It has been a WEEK! First Daylight Savings Time totally messed with the toddler. Let me tell you neither one of us was happy about this, NEITHER ONE OF US. Thankfully his sleep schedule seems to be back to normal at this point. Then there was the weather on Tuesday. Seriously I thought how could this week get worse. I swear I heard Mother Nature say “hold my beer”. We got a lot of it.
I also started working for a new and awesome client. So it’s been interesting balancing being a SAHM who has a part-time job on the side. But never fear I’m calling in the grandparents to help once a week. Which will be a huge help. In the meantime I pull up a tv table to the baby gate and work while he plays or babbles to me. It works…sort of. Mostly it doesn’t because I have mommy guilt for doing it. But the work has to get done.
Just to give you an idea on how busy last week was…I started this post on Saturday…I’m publishing it on Monday. Yeah…
And when I say all the things I mean laundry and cleaning my bathroom. Because having a guest come tomorrow that you forgot about until last night makes you one heck of a cleaning machine. I mean I know my friend won’t care. She’s not here to see my bathroom or my clothes. No she’s here to meet the toddler she’s only seen in pictures and me of course. But still, I’m sure she’ll need to use the bathroom while she’s here and well it needs to be cleaned.
So my husband took the toddler to a birthday party for a bit so I could DO ALL THE THINGS. Yet here I am updating the blog. To be fair this is also a thing that needs doing…so technically I’m using my time wisely. He may say otherwise, but he’s not here is he? Muahahaha!
Before I go to actually tackle the list I set out to do while they’re gone I have to show off my fluff mail! Fluff mail is basically any baby/toddler related mail. Which usually means it’s also momma mail. My price from Pretty Paisley arrived this morning. It’s a cowl called Timey Wimey based on the tv show Doctor Who. It is so freaking soft…which is a problem as I MIGHT need the wrap!
How pretty is that cowl? VERY.
The other item is also for me…sorry kid. It’s a bag that matches out pretty Serendipity wrap. I’m super excited to have a bag that matches the wrap. Enjoy your Saturday friends. I may have one more post for you today IF I get the boring chores out of the way first.
I wasn’t much of a coffee person until I started my last job before the toddler entered our lives. Sure I’d get a Starbucks beverage or something from a local cafe now and again…but I wasn’t very OMG I NEED THE COFFEE NOW until I started a the last gig. I think I only started drinking it because I was the one to make it almost every morning when I got into work. I was the first one in and it seemed like the right thing to do.
Once I got pregnant I switched to tea. I could not stand the taste or smell of coffee until I was close to 7 months pregnant! Can you imagine. But slowly my like and want of a cup came back right before little was due and I even went as far as to ask my parents for a Keurig. Hey I figured I’d have limited time to make coffee and deal with a newborn (I was correct). My wish was answered and the Keurig arrived.
Sometimes your mug is as important as the coffee you brew.
And let me tell you I have put that bad boy through it’s paces over the last 14 months. So much so that I think I forgot to change the filter as regularly as I should have. Y’all DO NOT want to know what that looked like when I removed it this morning while i wait for the replacement. Just know I won’t be letting that happen agin anytime soon…yikes.
But now here I sit waiting still for the mailman to arrive with my filters and variety k-cup box. Hey I was going to make that Amazon order worth it dammit! I prefer the k-cups, but I also have the make your own pod thing too. I also have a pound of Death Wish Coffee at the ready when I feel like cracking into it. It’s good stuff…but I don’t know if I’d call it the strongest coffee out there. It certainly isn’t stronger than my toddler that’s for sure!
So I stick with pods for convenience and because I always have a coupon for them ALWAYS. What keeps you running after your little one? Coffee, tea, energy drinks? Let me know your favorite(s) in the comments.
I knew the days were coming when the slightest thing would set my little one off. I thought I might have until two when those days began. But alas that day was today…14 months and one day in. I was in the bathroom and brought the toddler with me because that’s what you do once they’re capable of climbing everything. No more peeing in private for me…good times.
Anyway he typically grabs his ducky from the tub shelf and wanders around the bathroom babbling to himself or me. Not today, today he started playing with his shampoo bottle. I asked him to stop and come here and as he turned he knocked it into the tub and instant tears. Yes, I calmly told him he wasn’t in trouble. He seemed to get what I was saying as he waddled over and placed his head and COLD hands against my bare leg.
However, the rest of the morning came and went with two more of these mini meltdowns. Once from tripping and another after dropping a toy…it begins. Though good thing for wraps. Because quick ups save my bacon and calm my little man in a heartbeat. Plus I will take all the snuggles Mr. Independent wants to give me.
When did your little’s start showing signs of the terrible two’s? How do you deal with them? Let me know in the comments.
…family means nobody gets left behind. Not even when it comes to the baby/toddler wraps. Ok admit it you are super confused right now. That’s ok I promise I’m about to give you some clarity.
First some background…I got into the babywearing game late. Somewhere around 5-6 months after my son was born. Mostly because I didn’t know how awesome they were or easy to use. I was certain buckle carriers were the way to go. In fact we have one of those too. But I tend to reach for our wraps and ring slings more.
So a few months back (around the end of the summer maybe) I sold our very first wrap, Serendipity, from one of my favorite companies, Cari Slings. I bought it used from a momma in the chatter group I belong to. As we like to quote Lilo and Stitch the wrap was “little and broken, but still good. Yeah, still good.” By broken I mean it was a little over dried and the colors were a little muted. But it was still great for wrapping and it was ours and we loved it.
Me and the little (his face is covered for privacy) wrapped up in Serendipity.
Then I sold it to pay for another wrap I thought I HAD to have. I was wrong and sold that wrap after a maybe a month. Serendipity haunted me from the moment it sold. I kept seeing a few pop up here and there, but they weren’t mine. However, in a surprising turn of events the wrap in question turned up for sale Sunday night. Long story short..it arrived home this morning and it’s never leaving this Ohana again.
Plus my skills as a wrapper have come a long way from when this wrap first lived here. I couldn’t back wrap without help to save my life. But here I am rocking a double hammock like nobody’s business. It’s been a very good Wednesday friends. Very good indeed.
Do you hear that? No of course not seeing as you aren’t sitting in my dinning room listening to my toddler cry that it’s nap time. Mind you we do this everyday after lunch. So you’d think he’d know it was coming. Nope, he doesn’t each day is like the first time. Though today it seems he’s settled right down to sleep. Which was nicer than the day he took a BITE OUT OF HIS CRIB….yeah I bought covers real quick for the side rails after that one (already had one for the front rail).
Anyway, he goes in his crib now until 4 and I do things like write, fold laundry, or even catch a nap myself. It’s good times (except the crying part). So today I thought I’d write, check the calendar (update appointments), gasp, maybe read! I haven’t read a book since January and that was a graphic novel. In fact I still have two more books in the set to finish. Maybe a cup of tea, some chocolate and reading will have to happen before I catch an hour of zzz’s. Then it’s snack time, and all the playing until bed.
It’s funny some of my friends didn’t think I’d last three months staying home with my little guy. Sure it can be isolating as I don’t drive. But we have friends and family willing to take us out to play places or just to hang so that helps. Plus it’s been pretty nice the last few days so I’ve started taking him for morning walks through the neighborhood or to run an errand at the pharmacy up the street.
But back to my first point. Here I am a day shy of 14 months at home with my son and I wouldn’t have it any other way. He’s a joy to watch as he plays with his toys or stops to dance to music playing on a show or the iPod. The love and affection he gives without prompting almost makes my heart burst. Sure he can be a little stink sometimes and yes some nights he needs him momma or daddy to get back to sleep. That being said I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Though it is nice to do the freelance work that helps kick in for bills and other things too. But thats for tomorrow’s nap.
It’s been…I can’t even tell you how long since I’ve written here. But I plan (hahahaha) to be better about it. Seeing as the toddler is napping talking to himself in his crib I thought I’d take the time to update y’all on life so far.
SproutCroft hit the one year mark on January 1st! They really mean it when they say time flies. Heck I still remember taking him home thinking how the hell are we going to take care of this tiny person? But seeing as he’s still kicking and growing like a weed the hubbins and did something right! Go us! In fact he’s to that fun stage where he repeats everything and I do mean everything! His favorite word is “sauce”, short for applesauce….yep we have to spell it out or he starts sounding like one of those seagulls from ‘Finding Nemo’ but instead of “MINE?” your hear “SAUCE?”. It’s hilarious unless it isn’t time for sauce.
As for me? I got that nasty cold that lingers for two weeks or turns into something else. Well, in my case it turned into a sinus infection first. THEN bronchitis with a side of fractured rib. It’s not been fun times chasing around a toddler and dealing with that. Serious downside to the whole stay at home mom life…NO sick days at all. Unless dada is home and even then rest time is limited.
I’m also slowly launching my social media assistance business. What is it I do? Read through these questions and find out! Does connecting with your customers via social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.) take time away from your business? Need help setting up, using, or managing these accounts? What about promoting your brand/business? Do you use MailChimp or Constant Contact but need assistance in setting up mailings/newsletters? Does your business website have a blog, but no content? Need another set of eyes to proof your content prior to publishing?
If you need help with any of these things let me know in the comments and we can talk. Oh and I also need a name for this business… Current ideas include Geeky Momma Social Media and that’s about it. So put those thinking caps on and help a gal out!
If you know me, you’ll know that I recently (within the last three months) got into wrapping/wearing our little guy a lot. By that I mean I use a wrap to literally wrap him to me. Which leaves me pretty hands free to do other things, but still keep him close!
Well, some wraps can be mighty pricey and super hard to find. Take for example two wraps from one of my favorite companies: Cari Slngs. Noble Maiden (I never see come up for sale) and The Pilot (again I NEVER see it and it’s my unicorn). Noble Maiden is a Lord of the Rings themed wrap, while The Pilot is based on Wash from Firefly. So what do you do when you can’t find these wraps EVER?
It’s a leaf on the wind.
You find someone super talented with wrap scrap to make you a necklace out of them! Honestly the Noble Maiden necklace just happened to be for sale. I loved it so much I asked shop owner Sara to make me a custom necklace out of The Pilot scrap and she did not disappoint! In fact she knocked it clear out of the park.
Just look at how pretty her work is! She also makes earrings and other assorted goodies out of various wrap scraps for all your pretty needs. You can find her on Facebook or visit her Etsy shop to see her full inventory. You will not be disappointed…but your wallet might be!
…a new post. No I didn’t fall off the planet. My little guy has just been sleeping like CRAP the last week. Seriously up every freaking hour. One night I was up from 3am to 6:30 am with him and wasn’t that just the best. Well, had I looked at The Wonder Weeks app I might have known to…
Seriously.
Now I’m not saying this app is always right about this stuff. But this time it was stop freaking on! I honestly thought I was going to lose my shit due to lack of sleep. But then, then last night he only woke up at 4:40am and went back to sleep after a change and eats until 7 and then again till 9. Which of course made mommy and daddy a whole lot happier this morning…because we slept the good sleeps.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining about being a parent in the slightest. I love this kid with the fire of 1, 000 suns (or something). I’d just like to sleep for a solid 7 hours or six, I’ll take six…that’s cool too.
First off I have to say my husband is amazing. He didn’t have to get me tickets, but he did. He’s the best. Big ups to my mom and niece too…they came over to watch SproutCroft. WHO popped his first tooth yesterday, birthday eve!
I’ll admit I didn’t know what to expect heading down to Hudson for this show. Sure I’ve listened to a lot of Amanda Palmer over the years. But I knew nothing of Thor & Friends (opening act) nor of Amanda’s Dad, Jack. So we were going into the evening blind. We arrived in Hudson with an hour to spare before the show was to start and grabbed quick eats at Farmer and Sons. This was not at all cheap eats, but as the mister reminded me it was for my birthday. He got a burger and beer, I went with oysters and gin…like you do.
We finished around 7 when the show was to begin. But as if by happy accident it seemed we were wrong on the start time as people were just lining up. Once inside we were lucky enough to score seats (I’m too old to sit on the floor…ok honestly I probably can’t get off the floor now). The first thing I noticed was the age range of those in attendance…all over the map. The second thing? SO MANY ukuleles. Seriously all the ukuleles. And yes I had mine with me too.
“This is Islington…”
If you recall Neil Gaiman (Amanda’s husband) had signed Islington three years ago when he came to Saratoga. At the time he told me that this wasn’t his area and I should really have Amanda sign it. Well, challenge accepted…which took three years to see happen. More on that later.
Now with the little at home that meant momma would need to pump at least twice while at the show. Which I did. In the bathroom. I’m sure I could have done it in my seat and no one would have given a shit. But I couldn’t see what I was doing so I had to pump in the bathroom. Many thanks to all the woman who told me I was doing an amazing job or that I was a good momma. That really helped get me through missing some of the show and pumping. Funny story on the way to pump the first time I passed this dude who I SWORE looked like Ben Folds of Ben Folds Five fame. But I thought no freaking way.
So I missed the first few minutes of the show due to pumping. But I really enjoyed Thor & Friends! As Thor said what they do is magic. Apparently he’ll also be happy to host your kids at his house…so we’re thinking about it. I kid.They have their first album coming out in September. So check that out. At one point Amanda came out to play with them on, well I’m not sure what…but it was cool. Then Thor calls BEN FOLDS to come up and play! Yeah it was Ben FUCKING Folds I walked past.
Ben FUCKING Folds!
But wait it gets better. My husband tells me at the break that he’s just chilling in the crowd. I say yeah I’m sure he is…then go to get some air. Well, who do I see hanging out but Ben Folds. So naturally I stop and fell all over myself like an asshole. However, he was super great about it and said I was sweet. He also shook my hand twice. I nearly died. Thinking back I totally should have apologized for the hack job my friends and I did singing Brick back in 2000. We though we sounded AMAZING…when we listened to the tape the next day…we sounded like Lawrence Welk on crack…so uh I’m sorry Ben Folds.
So after that I headed back to my seat to freak out about it on Twitter…because I’m super classy like that. Amanda came out with her actual special guest, Gracie Folds. Who sang a super beautiful song, that I now forget the name of. (Fun story, when I went to punp again she and I chatted in the ladies room WHILE I WAS PUMPING….yeah again not my finest moment, but she was super cool about it.) Now it was time for Amanda and her Dad to take the stage. But first Amanda sang “In My Mind” which I was not expecting and it was great! She and Thor and Friends then sang a song they just made up on the spot while on tour. Which was basically a beautiful poem with music. Even my husband wished he’d recorded it. Yes it was that good!
Then Amanda’s dad Jack joined her on stage. He’s awesome too. It’s obvious how much pride he has for his daughter and his grandson (who was in the audience for a moment). They sang a bunch of songs off their album “You Got Me Signing” most of which it turns out my husband had heard, as sung by the original artists. We were treated to: You Got me Singing, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, 1952 Vincent Black Lightening, Pink Emerson Radio, Glacier, and I Love You So Much. That last one we all got to sing along on and it was epic.
This show was not at all what I expected, but it was everything I wanted in a show with Jack and Amanda Palmer. It felt super intimate and people were very chill about it too. Seriously no one was an asshole. After the show there was a signing and a lot of people left, so we got in line and waited. When it was our turn my hope was to not be a spaz as I was with Ben Folds. So there it was my turn to chat with Amanda and Jack. I gently took Islington out of the case and she said “This is like the fifth fucking uke of the night.” To which hubs replied “This one is a little different.” Then she saw Neil’s signature and smiled. So I told the story from three years ago and we laughed about it.
I asked for an across the table hug and got one! While hugging I told her her book helped me through some bad shit…especially the part where she talks about loosing her baby. Which lead to talking about my tattoo for my three and of course my rainbow baby. The whole time we were chatting we held hands and she patted the tattoo in question. It was brilliant and something I will never forget. I swear most artists love their fans. But Amanda seriously loves hers and it showed during the signing. She and Jack listened to everyone who stopped at the table and it was wonderful to have that experience.
Listen it’s the only thing in the world at the moment signed by Amanda, Jack, and Neil.
Oh right! She AND Jack signed my uke! All in all it was the best way to spend my birthday eve! Even better? Apparently my little guy wanted to see me on my birthday too as he STAYED UP until we got home…but a little boob and some cuddles and he was out for the count.
UPDATED to add that Amanda also sang Machete, a song she had written for her dear friend Anthony.
Gal In The Grey Hat 