The Gabba Friends
Hadley had some new friends show up at the house today. The girl pretty much lost it. Luckily, I captured it on the trusty phone.
Allow me to narrate this situation:
HJ: Foofa?! What are you doing here?!
HJ: Brobee? Is that really you?
HJ: OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyGod….MOM!!!!!
HJ: DID YOU SEE WHO’S HERE?!!!!
Around and Around and Around
This video was sponsored by the lovely friends we made in Singapore. Thank you all for helping us to tire our kid before bed.
Eight Month Baby
Hadley’s new discoveries during month eight: silly faces make Mommy and Daddy laugh, how to say “Da-Da”, positioning herself so Mommy thinks she’s about to crawl only to fall flat on her face, her first “adult” food (homemade chicken and dumplings), and figuring out how to run at full speed in her walker.
Things that suck about month eight: the lack of the word “Ma-Ma” around here, the thought that this eight-month-old will be a one-YEAR-old in just four months, the constant worry that she’s behind because she’s not crawling yet, a baby that still doesn’t sleep through the night, and having a baby that reaches down my shirt or puts her mouth on my boob in public because she’s hungry.
Mommy’s favorite things about month eight: hearing all of the different sounds she mimics everyday, seeing HJ wave her arms frantically to be picked up whenever I come close, putting a more independent baby in the seat of the shopping cart instead of lugging the car seat out, and teaching her new things like rolling a ball or knocking blocks over.
Letting Yourself Go
I admit it. Before I was a mom, I totally (and silently) judged all of those women out there that stopped caring about their appearance the minute they popped their kid out. I just couldn’t comprehend how someone could not care at all about how they looked when they left the house. Didn’t they know that the rest of us could see them? What happened to the mirrors in their house?
Ha. Pre-baby me needed to be slapped across the face and kicked in a kidney. What a judgmental twit.
The day I became a mom I instantly understood.
Here’s a visual for you. This is the most recent photo of me without a baby and without being pregnant. (It also happens to feature my best friend, Alyson.)
This photo was taken on Labor Day weekend 2010. And yes, like I said, that is the most recent photo of myself without a baby/fetus attached to me somewhere.
Do you know why?
Because ninety-nine percent of the time, I look like hell and avoid cameras. Hadley looks great. Me? Not so much.
What pre-baby me didn’t know was that when you have a baby, you spend so much time feeding, diapering, wiping, pureeing, laundering, soothing, rocking, and teaching that the second you have a free block of time, it is gloriously spent doing absolutely nothing productive. Showering, putting on make-up and getting dressed everyday? That’s a solid hour and a half each day that I could spend relaxing on the couch with Dance Moms, Pinterest and a glass of Trader Joe’s wine.
I put forth as little effort as possible into myself to get through that day. It just seems selfish to spend hours every week getting all dolled up when I could be teaching HJ her ABCs or how to freakin’ say Ma-ma already.
I left the house yesterday for the first time since the 8th grade with not one stitch of make-up anywhere on my face. And I didn’t care. Granted, I knew I wouldn’t see a single person that would know me, but still, that was a huge deal in my mind. I never would have done such a thing before Hadley arrived.
So to all of you whom I judged silently in my head in the past, I apologize. And now I’ve joined your ranks.
To all of you non-moms out there judging me now, plop out a baby and then we’ll talk.
Baby Language
Seven month baby
Hadley’s new discoveries during month seven: sitting up is all the rage, bath water is way more delicious than Mom says, sharing is caring (note above photo), and hitting people produces a hilarious reaction.
Things that suck about month seven: stranger danger is real (but luckily isn’t too bad yet), sleeping through the night is a distant memory, the sippy cup is merely another toy, being less than a year away from having a one-year-old, and force feeding amoxicillin is way harder than it sounds.
Mommy’s favorite things about month seven: belly giggles from pinching fat baby thighs, watching HJ play all by herself with her new Christmas toys, listening to HJ mimic sounds that we say (this will not be fun in the near future, I realize), and having a baby that makes every day an absolute joy. Seriously, how did I live without her?
How to Make Dish Towels
Thanks to Pinterest and a few other factors that hit us in November, I decided to make the majority of the gifts we gave out at Christmas this year. It was pretty fun, super cost effective, and I loved, loved, loved how everything turned out.
This first project was simple, but adorable. It also helped that I finally figured out the issue with my sewing machine the day before I started: a dull needle.
In case you need a cute and easy gift idea for the other holidays throughout the year, here’s how to make them.
This is what you’ll need: a sewing machine, iron, flour sack towels, 1/4 yard of fabric of your choice, pins, and pom pom embellishments (if you’re feeling fancy).
Before this project, I had never heard of flour sack dish towels, but apparently everyone else in the world had. Everyone I asked was like “Oh yeah. I know what those are.” Riiiight. When is everyone discussing things like this? Thankfully, I found them at Walmart in packs of 5 and 2.
After you assemble all of your supplies, you’ll want to wash and dry both the towels and your printed fabric to take care of any shrinking that may occur with your finished product. (Warning: You will also need to iron everything after you wash and dry it as it will be a hot mess when it comes out of that dryer.)
Then, cut your fabric to the thickness you prefer to stitch to your towels and iron down your seams.
Next, pin the fabric to your towel wherever you think it looks good. I ran mine even with the bottom stitch of the towel to make things easier. When it comes to sewing for me, the simpler the better.
After you have it pinned where you want it, start sewing it down.
And you’re done. You can add the pom pom embellishment if you want, but it’s optional. Aren’t these adorable?
I was so excited to have conquered the damn sewing machine. And you know what happened as I finished the last towel? The bobbin thread got all wound up inside the bottom and when I attempted to fix it, the insides fell out everywhere. I can’t friggin’ figure out how to put it back together either.
So yes, I’m back to hating sewing machines again.
Our Merry, Happy Christmas
We hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend as much as we did.
Mommy Escaped
Daddy and HJ took off this morning to go shopping for last minute Christmas items.
So what did I do?
I busted out of the house and away from all of the baking, wrapping, washing, vacuuming, and dusting that has been nagging at me for the last week.
Working from home is awesome, but it’s also a curse. It’s like working two full-time jobs simultaneously. I must be able to keep up with writing assignments while also keeping the clothes clean, the baby happy, the house tidy, dinner ready, and the dishes done. And since the housework doesn’t pay the bills, guess what gets neglected?
Yeah. Our house is a disaster.
That’s why today has been awesome. I got to leave the house, sans baby, and just be productive without a million things staring down at me to be done. Hell, I even got to blog before 10 pm. WHAT?!
As odd as it may sound, I actually envy the people who get to leave home everyday and go to an office. I’m insanely jealous of how much work you get to get done, uninterrupted for eight whole hours in a row. I’d love to be able to do that. My workday starts at 8 am and doesn’t end until midnight, everyday. Between changing diapers, feeding pea purees, reading books, and singing Old MacDonald, I must also meet writing deadlines, coordinate client projects, and make work phone calls that don’t include a screaming baby as background noise. It can be a doozy some days.
BUT, with that being said, I LOVE the gig I’ve got. I know how lucky we are that HJ gets to stay home with me and that I’m able to work from home.
I just wish babies understood work hours.
Six month baby
Hadley’s new discoveries during month six: taking a binky during nap time isn’t so bad afterall, armpits and feet are VERY ticklish, crawling isn’t necessary when rolling is equally effective, other kids are the coolest things she’s ever seen, and splashing in the bathtub is totally worth tipping the Boppy seat over and watching Mommy lose her shit for half a second.
Things that suck about month six: Mommy is absolutely under no condition allowed to leave the room, the days of exclusively breastfeeding are over, grabby baby hands only seem to reach for sharp and dangerous objects, moving HJ into her Pack n’ Play to sleep instead of the Rock n’ Play, and naps in the crib instead of Mommy and Daddy’s bed.
Mommy’s favorite things about month six: Hadley’s love for Christmas music, seeing HJ constantly search a room for her mommy, HJ’s newly thick head of blonde hair that covers and helps the dry scalp, a baby that sits up on her own with only minimal tip overs, cuter clothing selections now that she’s wearing 12 month-sized outfits, and watching her light up as she shreds the pages of the parenting magazines that probably should have been read.
