Growing Up Geeky

I just reminded myself why I never take all 3 kids grocery shopping

2017-02-18T21:27:00.000-05:00

So fast forward ohh maybe 9 months and Carina turned 6 ~~sort of recently~~ a while back. We finally got around to having her birthday party and with how busy we've been it became necessary to take all 3 kids to the grocery store earlier this week to order Carina's cake.

Our trip resulted in my laughing so hard I was crying (or was it the other way around? Definitely the other way around) and needing a drink before 5 PM on a Wednesday afternoon.

We arrived at the grocery store and to my dismay not a single obnoxious race car double-cart was to be found. I put Serafina in a normal cart and the girls each grabbed one of the tiny carts. One had a "customer in training" flag and the other didn't and this was a HUGE PROBLEM. Argument over who had the right to lay claim to the fancy flag cart and who had to suffer the pains of the cart sans flag ensued.

Since we were there to pick out Carina's cake for her birthday party I let her steer the cart with the flag and we headed over to the bakery counter. We flipped through the book of designs a few times and nothing piqued her interest. I asked her to please look again, and she finally settled on the Disney Fairies cake. I asked the employee how many people it serves and she didn't know and none of the other employees knew so she had to call the cake decorator to ask. After a few minutes she returned and Carina announced she didn't want that cake anymore.

I looked at her incredulously (like, why did we just wait 10 minutes and make her call the cake decorator, then?) Now she wanted the Minions cake. And the employee didn't know how many people it serves. She went to find out and I started filling out the order form in the meantime. Oh lookie there, it says right on the order form what size to get for our number of guests.

Cake ordered. Aurelia spotted one of the obnoxious race car double-carts that had since been abandoned about 20 feet away and clearly "we MUST go get it Mommy because I want to wiiiide!" In went Aurelia and Serafina. We returned the other cart and the tiny cart sans flag. We passed one of the sample "bubbles" with danish and I handed one to each of the ladies but Aurelia didn't want it.

Off we went in the monstrous race car cart that takes way too much energy to push and of course the avocados we needed were as hard as cannonballs. We stopped for another "bubble" this time with strawberries and Serafina dropped hers and yelled "oh no!" so loudly people stopped to make sure she was okay. About 30 seconds later they returned to make sure she was okay once again when Carina's tiny "customer in training" cart somehow FELL OVER striking Serafina in the face with the plastic "customer in training" flag. I picked her up out of the cart and comforted her as she was crying hysterically. Customers and employees alike swarmed around us and asked if I needed any help. She was fine, fortunately. I, on the other hand...was about to lose my mind.

We grabbed the few remaining things we needed and as soon as we were all the way across the store Aurelia proclaimed that now she wanted a piece of that danish back near the store entrance.

After a danish detour and then the checkout line it was time to return to the car. I buckled in Carina, Aurelia, then Serafina and only after all clasps were fastened did I realize that we were missing Serafina's beloved monkey lovie. TAKE MY EYES BUT NOT "MAA-MAA" MONKEY. I prayed to God please please please let the monkey be somewhere in the vicinity because I am not unbuckling everyone and going back inside. I ran over to the cart return and breathed a sigh of relief as I found monkey under the seat. Time to go home. And have a drink. Cheers🍸

The party was today. I still can't believe she's 6 years old.

Broken arm story for another day 😭

Any time I'm crazy enough to consider running errands with all 3 please remind me that there's not enough wine in the world...

Our New Normal

2016-05-10T09:42:00.002-04:00

::looks around::

August? Oh, honey.

I can't even finish a full cup of coffee before it gets cold, let alone a blog post. I started this one ~~6 weeks~~ ~~3.5 months~~ 7 months ago and have come back to it multiple times but just haven't been able to finish it until now. Such is our new normal. Let's just pretend it's still the end of October and I'm not the ~~laziest procrastinator~~ busiest Mom that ever there was. Shall we?

End of Octoberish
Yeah, oops on not updating sooner. We had a baby! Serafina is doing great and recovery has been a breeze {relatively speaking} this time around but birth story and details to follow; when I have time to write more coherently then mere stream of consciousness.

Three. I'm outnumbered.

I don't work on Mondays or Fridays and preschool for Carina and Aurelia is Tues-Wed-Thurs so it's just me and all three until Mike gets home from work in the evenings.

Today, everyone was sick but Mike, myself included. The baby woke up with a barking cough just before 5 AM and after an hour of nursing and bouncing and soothing she was still staring at me, wide awake. She finally fell asleep on my chest but not before blowing out her diaper. What's a Mom to do? You better believe I let her sleep on me poop and all. Although, I can't blame this on the 3rd child mentality. I've been known to do this before.

This Mom of 3 thing is hard.

Excuse me, gotta go. The baby just woke up crying after a 20 minute nap. Send wine.

Now
At the beginning of the year I started a new job which requires me to go on-site one day a week. I work from home on Mondays and Wednesdays, and on Fridays you'll find me baby in one arm while applying mascara with the other. I've mastered pumping while shoveling Raisin Bran down the hatch and brushing one of the big girls' hair into a pretty ponytail all at the same time.

My heart is full -- I'm the happiest I've been in as long as I can remember -- but I'm also the most stressed out. There's this constant nagging that something needs to be done, or cleaned, or paid, or fed, and the responsibility of everything I do and need to do just weighs on me.

I usually can't see the floor of the laundry room and I'm lucky if I remember to get more milk before we run out. We still have unpacked boxes from the move last year and the toy mess is slowly encroaching upon every single room in the house (even the closet in our bedroom...how does that happen?) I'm sure there's something more I should be doing with Carina to prepare her for Kindergarten in the Fall and with Aurelia to help with her tantrums and sensitivity. And the baby? I don't even remember what I was doing with the big girls at her age...helping them to crawl? Working on words?

Despite all this, I have more smiles, belly laughs, and endless snuggles than I ever thought possible. The girls are so sweet and we have so much fun going for bike rides, playing with dolls, or lining up all of their "guys" and pretending to have epic battles. Carina and Aurelia are best friends and expert big sisters. There's nothing more rewarding than watching these beings that you created interact with each other.

By the time the girls are in bed all I can muster is the energy to stay awake. Sometimes I'm asleep by 10:30, which is early for me. Other nights my mind wanders through all the things that still need to be done and the clock becomes my enemy as it nears midnight. Then it's time to wake up and rinse, repeat.

At least, with this post, I can cross one thing off of the "desperately need to-do" list ;)

Blink

2015-08-06T22:15:00.001-04:00

I blinked and it's 5 months since my last post.

A lot has changed.

We moved from Connecticut to Charleston, South Carolina.

We're homeowners.

I'm 35 weeks pregnant today.

I have a new job offer.

Aurelia is potty trained.

Mike is getting his new office set up and teaches his first class in about 3 weeks.

Wait, 35 weeks pregnant? With all the packing and planning for the move, the move itself (16 hours in the car with sick kids and fighting cats is awesome, let me tell you) and unpacking {and still working part-time all the while} it's almost entirely escaped me that I'm enormous and the baby is going to be here so soon.

It didn't hit me until yesterday. When getting dressed I realized that almost all of my maternity tops are too short. Either I grabbed a bunch of mislabeled shirts or I'm simply -- as Aurelia would say -- "huge-mongous". I should probably figure out where I need to go to deliver this baby and take some baby clothes and diapers out of storage or something.

Ohhh becoming a 3rd time Mom is so, so different. I'd love to say it's due to the fact that I'm so much more chill this time around, but the truth is that I only have the brain capacity to keep track of so many things at once and the baby just isn't on my radar yet. I'm sure that will change the minute she arrives, though. I hope?

She. Yes, baby #3 is a girl. We couldn't be more excited. The girls were pulling for either Starla or Somersault, but we've settled on Serafina Anne, which means "fiery one" or "fiery angel". If she's anything like her sisters, her name will fit her perfectly.

"I'm pregnant like Mommy!"

2015-03-09T20:59:00.000-04:00

Back in December, it had been a year since Mike and I had started trying for baby G #3. My doctor sent orders to the lab for me to go in for a round of fertility blood work whenever I was ready.

But I wasn't ready yet. It had only been a month or so since I had completely weaned Aurelia and to be truthful, we weren't in any rush. With the possibility of Mike starting a new job in the Fall, we thought it might be smart to try to avoid for a few months so as not to have a baby popping out while Mike was supposed to be teaching his very first college class.

A couple weeks later Mike got his job offer and of course we had to celebrate and of course I wasn't charting or paying any attention to my cycle. And then of course when a few weeks later I realized I hadn't gotten my period in a while and decided to take a test there were two lines. I think I stared at the test in shock for a good five minutes before even showing Mike. Neither of us believed it until we saw the same two lines there a few days later.

Okay so just three short weeks after Professor Mike embarks upon his career as a professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, baby G #3 will be making his or her appearance. We're all really excited. And pretending to be pregnant is now Carina and Aurelia's favorite game.

I'm pregnant like Mommy!

The next few months are going to be crazy. We'll be flying down to Charleston soon to look at homes and provided all goes as planned we should be moving in early July. Then comes Mike's job and baby #3.

So far, this pregnancy has been really different from my two previous pregnancies. With Carina and Aurelia, I only ever had some light nausea. Now I feel nauseated almost all the time and have become well acquainted with the toilet :( And since the girls no longer nap, there is no chance for me to rest during the day.

More to come soon...that is, if I can stay awake at night long enough to write another blog post ;)

Merry Christmas to all and to Mike a new job

2014-12-24T13:30:00.000-05:00

Less than a week and a half into the month of December, Mike had already been on two out-of-state job interviews. Each was for a few days, leaving me with the girls and little space in my brain for much other than what to make for each meal and how to juggle bedtime to get them both asleep while maintaining my sanity. I think it was almost December 20th before I realized I forgot to order Christmas cards or get any presents other than those for the girls. Oops.

But now, we're at my parents' house relaxing for the first time in a long time -- as I'm happy to report that after submitting more than 50 applications and preparing multiple presentations Mike has accepted a {permanent} job as an assistant professor of chemistry in Charleston, South Carolina. Yes, you read that right, we're moving South in the summertime! This has been 13 years in the making for Mike, since he decided that being a professor was his goal when he began college at age 18.

That goal brought him to Wisconsin for 5 years of grad school, and then to Connecticut for 3 years of postdoctoral experience. We cannot be more excited about this {final} move. After 30+ years in COLD (New England or Wisconsin) I welcome nicer weather with open arms. In a few weeks we'll be speaking with a realtor and hopefully determining a timeline for buying our first home down there. I've never been to Charleston and know almost nothing of the area, so now begins quite the new adventure...

Broken

2014-11-05T21:53:00.002-05:00

::peeks in::

Anyone still here?

When I logged into Blogger tonight for the first time in 6 months and saw that the title of my last post was Realizing I can't do it all, I smiled.

Let's just jump back in.

One morning, about a month ago, I wasn't fast enough when my little miss "do it mySELF" went down too many stairs at once. I scooped her up and hugged her tight, attempting to make everything all better. She didn't seem to be in any pain after a few minutes had passed but she wasn't moving her left arm much. And it looked funny. I called her pediatrician and they went through a long list of questions and apparently a "funny looking arm" diagnosis warrants a trip to the ER.

I picked up Carina at preschool and brought her to Mike's work and then hightailed it to the Children's Hospital ER. The doctor examined her but since she showed no signs of pain she assumed Aurelia was fine. Protocol is an X-ray, though, so they wheeled us together, Aurelia sitting on my lap yelling, "wheeeee!" the entire time, all the way to Radiology. "Fun ride! Do again!"

The doctor was shocked to see that she had actually broken her arm. They sent us back to Radiology for more X-rays (I think the first one was kind of a we assume she's fine courtesy X-ray) "wheeeeee! Fun!" Then came the part where the had to sedate her in order to set the bone and put a cast on and I had to leave the room -- not because they made me, but because I couldn't watch. I sat right outside in the hallway, crying. Blaming myself.

She woke up happy and the hand-to-just-under-the-shoulder cast didn't even phase her. One more trip to Radiology "Fun ride! Wheeeee!" and then we headed home, about 7 hours after we had arrived. Way past her bed time, Aurelia fell asleep on the ride home.

4 short weeks later, she actually got the cast off today. They used a saw to cut it off and thinking she'd be afraid, the Radiology Technician had me hold up a towel so that she couldn't see what he was doing. She kept on trying to move it so she could watch. No fear, no tears. She's been so brave through this entire ordeal.

I, on the other hand, have been a freaking mess. Mommy guilt times a million on this one.

Realizing I can't do it all

2014-06-09T22:09:00.000-04:00

I'm tired. Really tired. Watching the kids all day long followed by working until 11 PM every night tired. This has been the story of the last month. Even the weekends have mostly been watching the girls while Mike works, and then working myself when he comes home.

Why am I torturing myself? I thought I could do it. But then the ~10 hour/week job turned into more like 20 hours/week…and then I realized the house was a dump. I could feel my anxiety coming back but had no time to do any of the things that help keep it at bay (read, do puzzles, just relax).

I ~~don't have to~~ can't be Supermom. It's not good for my mental, emotional, or physical (SO TIRED!) well-being.

So, I:

1. Hired a new part-time babysitter (a neighbor who is really flexible and the girls love her, woohoo!) She starts this week.

2. Started getting our groceries delivered. Whatever. You can judge.

3. Will be searching for a house cleaner this weekend.

The best part: now I can feel like the time I spend with the girls will be well-spent. I won't be ducking away for 5 minutes here and there to read and respond to work e-mails.

A close second: I cannot wait to have my nights back to myself. ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK HERE I COME.

If we could do our registry over again

2014-05-17T20:43:00.001-04:00

It's been almost 4 years since we painstakingly created our baby registry. When I was 16 or so weeks pregnant, Mike and I went to Babies R Us on a Sunday afternoon, grabbed a registry barcode scanner, walked around aimlessly, felt overwhelmed, scanned only two things (crib and stroller) and then headed home. I did the rest of it online -- sitting comfortably on my couch. That way, I could read reviews and see everything in a much more organized manner.

I promised this post to a few pregnant friends who read my list of "Favorite Things" and wanted to know how it all turned out. Would I still buy the same items? Are some of the high price tags worth it?

Below is a run down of most of the items on the list and how we feel about them now. I'll also be following up this post with a list of things that weren't on this original list of newborn/baby items but should be, and then lastly I'll share what books and toys we're loving now (like we did a year or so ago). I always love seeing other people's recommendations, so I'll share ours :)

So without further ado…

Stuff we still love

Wubbanub pacifiers

Oh, the wub. How I wish Aurelia ever took a pacifier. Never the less, whoever invented the Wubbanub is a genius. It is a Soothie pacifier attached to a little stuffed animal. They make all different kinds of animals including giraffes, dinosaurs, dogs, and monkeys. Carina loved her kitty more than anything until she broke it when she was about 18 Months old. Up to that point, it was the only pacifier we had for her. After it broke, we went through about 10 soothe pacifiers until we took them away last summer. The wubs are so much easier to keep track of and are so much cuter.

Gerber Birdseye Prefold Cloth Diapers

Everyone told me to get a few packs of these, because they are the best burp cloths and I didn't listen. I registered for and bought pretty burp cloths. The pretty ones look nice, but they aren't absorbent at all. I think most of them are in the trash at this point. These Gerber cloth diapers are so absorbent sometimes I can't even tell that there's spit up all over them! In comparison to the fancy burp cloths, these are super cheap, too.

Aden and Anais Swaddle Blankets
These swaddle blankets are truly the best. We probably have close to 20 different receiving blankets and these are the only ones that we use to swaddle anymore. They are large and a little bit stretchy; perfect for swaddling! We actually bought another set after it became clear that these were the be-all end-all of swaddle blankets. The prints are super cute, too.

Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes
This little toy plays four different classical music songs including Vivaldi's Four Seasons - Spring (one of my faves). We kept it on the changing table and would give it to the girls during diaper changes because these little squirmies need a distraction. I've bought this as a baby shower/new baby gift for friends a couple times.

MAM Oral Care Rabbit
I bought this on the recommendation of some of the Bump ladies and I am so glad I did. You slip your fingers in the bunny's ears and rub baby's gums. Neither of the girls has been fond of teeth brushing (read: hysterical screaming), but they tolerated this much better than the other (3 or 4) baby toothbrushes we've tried.

Itzbeen Pocket Nanny
It's no secret that I'm obsessed with the Itzbeen. It has been a life saver. Every time you feed baby or change her diaper, you press the button and a timer starts counting. This means at any given time you can see how long it has been since you fed or changed her. I cannot live without this item. We used it just as religiously with Aurelia as we did with Carina and will absolutely use it for any future babies. I know there are phone apps out there that do the same thing but the ease of pushing a button vs. swiping into your phone, into an app, and recording the data can't be beat. I am a heavy iPhone user but will never trade this for an app.

Halo Cotton Swaddle Sleepsack
At around 4 months Carina outgrew our aden + anais Swaddle Blankets. We looked at a number of sleep products like SwaddleMes, the Woombie, and the Swaddlepod, but decided against those designs because we weren't sure for how much longer she would need to be swaddled. This sleepsack, on the other hand, can be used as a sleep blanket with or without the velcro swaddly part. When Carina no longer needed to be swaddled, we unhooked the velcro and took off the swaddle. As soon as we started using this sleepsack, she was back to sleeping through the night almost every night!

Lansinoh Disposable Nursing Pads
I was using reusable nursing pads at first, but after I leaked through one, my bra, my shirt, and the blanket that was covering me, I knew it was time to try something else. These are great; they have an adhesive backing and will stick to your nursing bra or tank really well, and in over 3 total years of breastfeeding (whoa…) I've never leaked through one. I tried free samples of other brands but always came back to these. If you're nursing, get these. You'll thank me.

Medela PersonalFit Breastshields
It is IMPERATIVE that you make sure you have the right fit while pumping. Otherwise it can be painful and decrease your output. I was using the wrong size for a few weeks when Carina was a newborn and it was painful and I was frustrated that I wasn't pumping much milk. Most breast pumps come with the most popular size (24 mm) and I had no idea that they weren't actually "one-size-fits-all". Check out the guide on the Medela website to see if you have the right fit.

Munchkin Dishwasher Basket

I don't know how I would clean all of my pump parts, the girls' bottle parts, zippy cup parts, etc. as efficiently if it weren't for this basket. I just throw everything in there; no hand washing necessary. Saves me so much time. It's been in our dishwasher ever day pretty much since Carina was a few weeks old.

Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags
Anyone who breastfeeds and pumps breastmilk will need a means in which to store said milk. When I started pumping when Carina was 3 weeks old, I poured the milk in these bags when I was done, and then lay them flat in the freezer. These bags hold up great and are super easy to use.

Simple Wishes Hands-Free Breastpump Bra
This bra is amazing and a must-have for anyone who needs to multi-task. I used it at work when I pumped, and I was able to keep on working while I pump. It is so absolutely worth the money for anyone who is planning on pumping at work. It's comfortable and adjustable in size so it's easy to get the perfect fit. There are removable straps that you can use if you need additional support. I've since bought another so I can keep one at work and one at home (as needed).

My Brest Friend Pillow
This pillow literally has become my best friend. It is thick and supportive (not mushy like the boppy) and has a back rest. You don't have to hold the baby in position; your arms are free! It is adjustable and can fit snugly enough that you can stand up and walk around while baby is feeding. It also has a pocket that you can put your cell phone or lanolin in.

Inglesina Table Chair
We've used this chair for both girls and they much prefer it to our giant clunky high chair. The levers under the arms are completely adjustable, so you can attach the seat to tables of any thickness. It folds up really nicely, so it's perfect to bring to restaurants or take with you when you travel. We picked this brand as opposed to others because it had the best reviews on Amazon for table chairs under $50.

ERGObaby Baby Carrier
The Ergo was great for multitasking with both girls. When you have little ones who refuse to be put down, putting them in this will let you get some chores done. In my experience, it often lulled a nap-refusing baby to sleep. It was definitely a must-have for grocery shopping with a newborn and a toddler, too.

Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo
Take my eyes but not this jumper! This is akin to baby crack; both girls had so much fun in it. You can see for yourself in this video of Carina in it. When they weren't tall enough to reach the ground from the lowest setting (the height is adjustable), we simply put a thick Chemistry text book under their feet. Worked great.

Fisher Price Precious Planet Swing

Carina and Aurelia both slept in this swing every night for a few months when they were newborns. They LOVED it and slept through the night and what tired Momma & Daddy don't want sleep? This particular model is great because you can use it with either batteries or the plug-in adapter. I would make love to this swing if I could. I'm not kidding. I tested a different brand/type of swing for a Mom's Panel I'm in when Aurelia was a newborn and it didn't even compare. I'm not sure if they sell this exact model anymore, but look for any of the Fisher Price cradle swings. Same idea and function.

Fisher-Price Playtime Bouncer, Precious Planet
Both Carina and Aurelia could sit in this bouncer all day. But don't worry, I didn't let them. It's stored in Aurelia's closet now and if I'm cleaning or rearranging in there, they still like to take it out and play with it. If you can handle the cuteness, take a look at the video of her adorable 'dancing'. This was my go-to item when I need a few minutes to pee or get something to eat.

Stuff we're "meh" about or would do differently

JJ Cole Car Seat Cover
These are a good alternative to the JJ Cole Bundle Mes because they don't go between baby and the car seat (and hence won't void your car seat's warranty). We have 2, but honestly I think a thick baby blanket works just as well.

Fisher-Price Precious Planet Tub
This thing is huge and takes up a ton of space. I'm not sure there are many great alternatives out there, but we'd probably try to find something less bulky. Maybe one like this that looks like it fits in the kitchen sink - The First Year's Infant To Toddler Tub.

ERGObaby Original Infant Insert
Neither of the girls was very comfortable in the Ergo infant insert. I've heard you can use a wrapped up receiving blanket and it works just well. And anyways, I found the Moby Wrap to be better suited for the newborn stage.

Fisher-Price Rainforest Peek-a-Boo Soother, Waterfall
Carina enjoyed this, but it eats batteries. We've since opted for the Soundspa Lullaby Sound Machine and Projector. We have one for each of the girls' rooms now. They're not perfect (the projector motor craps out every now and then) but they are comforting and can stay on all night (instead of shutting off after 20 minutes).

Baby Jogger City Mini Single Stroller
I really liked this stroller, BUT -- if you are planning on having more than 1 kid, I'd really consider a single stroller that can convert into a double. I wish we had done this. Because now we have this stroller, and also the Double, and they both take a lot of space. If we could do it all over again I think I'd go for either the phil&teds Navigator or the Baby Jogger City Select.

Fisher-Price Rainforest Melodies & Lights Deluxe Gym
Both girls enjoyed this gym but it falls apart every freaking 5 minutes. We have to constantly put the four corners of it back into the play mat and snap the top back together. Maybe we just got a defective one? I won the Tiny Love My Nature Pals Move & Playmat at BlogHer shortly before Aurelia was born and like this one a lot better.

Boppy Nursing Pillow
I didn't use the Boppy for nursing, I much prefer the My Brest Friend Pillow for that -- we used it for baby lounging. Just a place to hang out when the girls couldn't yet sit up on their own. In retrospect, any old pair of pillows would have done just fine (and have done just fine).

Fisher-Price Precious Planet Mobile
We didn't use this mobile much past the first few months for either of the girls. We opted for the Soundspa Lullaby Sound Machine and Projector and handmade mobiles instead. We took the little animals off and the girls still play with them, though.

Fortunately, there really haven't been any items that we initially liked only to find them unbearable later on. Just a few things for which we probably would have considered other options had we known then what we know now.

Moms out there, please feel free to add any advice or must-have items, or things you wish you hadn't bought.

My princess problem

2014-05-07T12:28:00.001-04:00

Sure, my girls love princesses. But I'm an enabler of the worst kind. If it's Disney and it wears a dress, they probably have its manifestation in doll form in not 1, not 2, but 3 sizes. And pajamas….books…and games. And 9 times out of 10, they didn't even ask for it. I can't help it. I think I love having these princess things around more than they do. As evidenced by the Disney princess calendar hanging in our bedroom.

There's princess bedlam in our house:

Clockwise from top left: 1. princess toddler dolls fill our shopping cart. Carina pretends they are pirates and they sail in the shopping cart pirate ship. 2. "squishy" princess dolls on Carina's bed. They are not all hers, she plundered a few from Aurelia's crib. This is a nightly occurrence. 3. princess orgy in the garage of their dollhouse. There are usually more naked ones than there are today. 4. princess figurines. I think we have close to 30 of them. Yikes.

I was mostly a tomboy growing up and couldn't be bothered with anything even remotely girly, so I'm not sure where this obsession has come from. As a matter of fact I much preferred animals (The Lion King was my favorite movie) to dolls and at any given moment until I was probably 12 15 you could find stuffed animals strewn about my bedroom.

And then I birthed girls. Maybe I'm living vicariously through them since I essentially ignored Ariel, Belle, and Jasmine when I was a little girl. No surprise -- I preferred Flounder & Sebastian, Lumiere (he's the shit, no?) and Abu & Rajah. After I saw Tangled for the first time I put the soundtrack on loop every day (even further confession: I LOVE Mandy Moore). Little baby Carina loved to dance to the songs.

Our trip to Disney in December only served to fuel the fire. We had dinner with the princesses at Norway in Epcot and I think we met and photographed the girls with each and every princess we could find.

Okay, not quite princesses - but hilarious nonetheless

And don't tell Mike, but I'm already looking into planning a return trip, hopefully right before Christmas 2015. Maybe? (Pretty please, Mike?)

Then we saw Frozen. I've been completely sucked in, and so have the girls. The fact that the story is about two sisters helps me justify watching it over and over again and thank goodness the merchandise is sold out everywhere or else I'm sure we'd have too much of it. I must have ALL THE PRINCESS THINGS.

They can thank the "Easter bunny" for our latest acquisitions:

Merida & Cinderella dress-up dresses

Sofia the First & Tinkerbell hair clips

::sigh:: I {clearly} need a princess intervention.

BUT HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE THIS?

The inception of "Rina"

2014-04-30T09:58:00.001-04:00

I remember when telling our friends and family members the name we had chosen for our first daughter, they asked, "what will her nickname be?" And we had no idea. It wasn't something we were going to worry about, especially before she was born.

Until just last week, Carina has never had a nickname other than "peanut" and "tiny" and those were both relics from her newborn and infant days.

Aurelia has been on a roll with pointing at things and proudly announcing their names recently. "Kitty! Ball! Yake!" (what she calls Jake the pirate) Also "Mommy! Da-y!" (not quite "Daddy" but close) But her favorite? "Big sis! Sissy!" Then...

The first time she said it, we weren't sure if we had heard correctly. So we prompted her to repeat it. We listened and there it was, clear as day, "Rina!" while she was pointing to Carina.

Rina it is. Aurelia says it all the time now and it couldn't be more adorable.

Our Rina.

Did she just say "ass"?

2014-03-30T22:41:00.000-04:00

We were in the car on the way back from the library when we heard a soft voice from the backseat announce, "aaassss!"

I looked at Mike, shocked. I whispered, "did she just say ass?"

"No, she doesn't know that word. Definitely not."

Aurelia repeated loudly, as if she had heard us, "ASS!!!"

We exchanged embarrassed glances, wondering when (and from whom) she had heard the word. Vowing to clean up what we had already thought was squeaky-clean language, we cranked up the Sofia the First soundtrack and I rocked out to "Bigger is Better".

At home, Aurelia stood up on her tippy toes and reached up to the shelf that houses our Don't Break the Ice game. She loves to play this game. And by play I mean that I fit each of those little white blocks into the square perfectly, and then she destroys it all by punching it. Who needs those tiny hammers that come with the game when your fists make quick work of breaking that ish in 5 seconds flat.

She squealed with delight as the red bear fell in and yelled, "aaassss! ASS!"

It clicks. ICE. She means ICE. Not ASS. WE'RE NOT BAD PARENTS! At least not yet.

"Aaassss!"

The next day she said it again. "Aaassss!" Okay, great. Since we know what it means now I grabbed the game and started painstakingly setting up the blocks of ice for the hundredth time.

But she kept saying it while pointing into the kitchen. She toddled in and I followed her. I had just started boiling water for dinner and had set a bag of rice on the counter. She started getting excited. It wasn't until dinner was served that I realized her fervor was the result of the fact that I had set a plate of rice before her. Looks like "aaassss!" also means rice. Got it, sweet pea.

Fast forward to 6:15 AM Saturday morning. I nursed Aurelia and then set her between us in bed. She climbed on my lap, started moving up and down saying, "aaassss!" It's the crack of dawn and I'm in no mood to play with ice nor cook rice and I JUST WANT TO SLEEP and "ASS! Aaassss! Tottt!"

"Aurelia, it's early in the morning and I have no idea what you want."

I hear a grumble from Mike's side of the bed, "HORSE. She wants you to play horsey with her."

I bounce her up and down on my legs and chant, "riding on the horsey riding on the horsey riding on the horsey trot trot trot." Both of the girls love this game.

And now we know it's all about context, and very slight variations:
If we're in the proximity of the game, and it sounds like "aiisssse" she probably wants to play Don't Break the Ice.
If I'm asking her what she wants for dinner and it is reminiscent of the above, then she wants rice.
If we're romping around (or in bed at 6:15 AM and she's climbing in my lap) and it sounds like "aossse" she wants to trot like a horsey.

Toddler speak deciphered. I dread the day when she says "aaassss!" and there's no alternate meaning.

Filed under: Mommy fail, & finally returning to the land of the living

2014-03-25T13:02:00.001-04:00

My part-time working-from-home contract is over, which means I'm back to being a stay-at-home-Mom for a while. I've told my consulting company that at this point in time, I'm only going to consider a a local or remote position that is less than 20 hours a week.

Why? Well, when it comes to childcare we've really struck out. With 3 weeks left to go in my contract, our Nanny sent me a text 5 minutes before she was supposed to arrive on a Monday morning stating that she wouldn't be coming back. She's pregnant, and said it was just too much for her. I get that -- I've worked while pregnant and it's hard -- but MORE THAN 5 MINUTES NOTICE would have been nice. You know?

Mike's work offers a limited number of subsidized backup-care hours per school year so we used a little of that, and for the rest? I took care of the girls all day and squeezed in as much work as I could and then worked all night, too. For 3 weeks. A few days in I was exhausted and by the end I felt like a zombie.

It's nice to be back to just one job now - being with my girls. I've blogged so little in the last 6 months I've missed chronicling a number of firsts, milestones, and fun stories. I might go back and try to recall some in the coming weeks but for now I'm just going to jump in and go from here.

Quick catch-up/what's new:

Carina starts preschool in the Fall two half-days a week. I'm so excited for her to socialize and learn, and I'm also glad that Aurelia and I will have a little bit of just-us time. We ditched the crib when we moved (back in December) and she's been in a full-size big girl bed ever since. I just measured her at the doctor's office yesterday and she is over 30 lbs. and 37.5 in. We've come a long way since the Failure to Thrive diagnosis. I can't tell you how glad I am that all of that is over.

Aurelia is walking everywhere now! Her first steps were at 17 Months and just about 2 weeks ago marked more time on her feet than walking on her knees. She hit 18 Months on Sunday and is talking up a storm; I would guess she says about 50 different words at this point. She's still nursing 3 times a day: morning, before nap, and before bed. Oh and lately? Add twice a night to that. Since we moved she's been up at least TWO TIMES EVERY NIGHT AND MOMMA IS EXHAUSTED. We've chosen this coming up weekend to sort of let her CIO and see what happens. Please wish us luck.

And now onto my Mommy Fail. On my 2nd day not working I thought it would be fun to take the girls out to Toys R Us to buy them a little treat for being so good while I was trying to jam as much work as possible into daylight hours.

I put them in the cart and we headed down the Princess aisle. Of course they wanted to hold the entire contents of the aisle and whined when I put Rapunzel and her pony back on the shelf and cried when I set Baby Princess Anna down (even though they already have her at home!) and completely lost their shit when I insisted that we couldn't take home the jumbo-pack of 6" Disney Toddler Dolls for the low price of $80. "But Moooom, they have Tiana!"

I began to feel like the cruelest {and dumbest} person alive. Take them to a toy store and show them all these cute and fun things that they can't have…brilliant. So I made haste for the Disney Junior section to pick up the Sofia the First sisters doll set I had picked out ahead of time for the girls to share. They looked at it for 10 seconds, definitely excited, but then they spied the Doc McStuffins and Jake and the Neverland Pirates displays and promptly made it clear to me that they needed ALL THE THINGS.

We left that part of the store as quickly as possible and trudged over to a corner that had a train table set up. Perfect. I got them out of the cart and set them down to play for a few minutes. I had barely put Aurelia down when Carina announced to me {and to all the other kids playing} that she needed to go poopoo. NOW.

Aurelia protested getting back in the cart so I carried her while pushing the cart with the other hand and praying that Carina didn't poo her pants on the way to the bathroom, which just had to be all the way at the other end of the store. Once inside the stall I discovered that unfortunately I'd left our portable potty seat at home. So I held Carina in a hover position on the toilet (otherwise she would have fallen in) and pleaded with Aurelia to not crawl on the dirty bathroom floor.

She looked at me, said "go!" and began to crawl under the stall door. Thankfully Carina finished soon thereafter so I set her down and told her to wait, swung upon the door, and chased down Aurelia who had just about made it to the sinks and was still on all fours {ew}. Carina came bounding out of the stall with her pants and Princess underpants down around her ankles shouting, "silly baby!"

I scooped up Aurelia and pulled up Carina's clothes as quickly as possible and made for the cash registers. We were just about to check out when my phone rang. It was work. Of course it was a phone call I had been waiting for regarding whether or not my current customer was going to extend anyone so I spent a few minutes on the phone getting bad news while trying to keep Carina from diving into the dollar bin and prevent Aurelia from emptying the entire contents all over the floor.

Hang up phone. Purchase Sofia doll. Get in car. Put on Frozen soundtrack for the millionth time. Sigh. Drive home. Thank God I had put something in the crockpot earlier that morning.

Welcome back to being a stay-at-home Mom, Mama G ;)

Hold the phone

2014-02-05T21:20:00.001-05:00

It can't be more than a month since I last posted, can it?

le sigh.

I've got to stop promising posts that don't happen because life always gets crazier than I think it will. And truth be told, a new {slightly embarrassing} hobby has replaced blogging as of late. You ready for this? Here and here. Nothing makes me feel more relaxed than sitting with a glass of wine putting together these bad boys. Anywho, I digress.

Just a couple days after my last post I was offered a new contract that required a 3 day trip to Texas followed by 7.5 weeks of working PART-TIME FROM HOME. Can you hear the Hallelujah chorus? I didn't even have to interview for it -- it was just mine. I can't get over how lucky I've been in all this.

So after 3 days in Austin pumping 'round the clock because hello boobs where did you come from? and learning an entirely new build/change control philosophy -- er, sorry, job stuff -- I was feeling a little overwhelmed. Maybe, just maybe I enjoyed the little bit of autonomy the trip afforded me but in all, with a new job, new Nanny, sad sad separation anxiety on Aurelia's part, and still trying to unpack from the move, I *might* be wishing I still had some anxiety meds stashed away in our medicine cabinet.

Oh well, I've managed. I've been at it for almost 3 weeks now and it's going well. I truly love the work I do and the fact that I can do it while sitting in yoga pants and stuffing my face with Girl Scout cookies (SAMOAS! YES!) while a kitty sits in my lap and purrs? It's awesome.

The new Nanny loves arts and crafts and Carina is having a ball making letters and princess crowns and painting with watercolors. And did I mention the Nanny brought Campbell's Soup in Disney Princess shapes for lunch for the girls on day #2 of working for us? Carina was so excited to see {I think what was supposed to be} Cinderella in her soup.

The downside has been Aurelia's sadness every time I go upstairs. Since her monitor is in our room (where my office is) and we leave it on all the time (or else we hear a neighbor's baby SO WEIRD) I periodically hear her crying, "Mama! Mama! Mama!" over and over again and I die a little inside. She's been wanting to nurse more than our recent 3 times a day and demands to sit on my lap and snuggle at all times.

Only 5 weeks to go. After that? Who knows.

Anyone work at home? How does it work logistically?

Catch up

2014-01-01T12:19:00.002-05:00

I'm just going to dive back in and avoid mentioning the fact that I haven't blogged in almost 2 months (wait...oops).

Since my last post we've moved, gone to Disney World, and celebrated Christmas & Carina's 3rd birthday ::sob:: with our families. Also, I weaned myself off of the anxiety meds, finished out my work contract, and fell asleep not too long after 10 PM on New Year's Eve with a wine glass in hand. Accomplishments?

More detailed posts on all that and more to come {I promise. Okay, I hope} but for now I just wanted to hop on my poor neglected blog and share my New Year's Resolution:

Blog more, but not let it take over my life.

I think the me from one year ago would be aghast to see how I've let things around here deteriorate, but to be truthful, the me from today is pretty embarrassed looking back at how much this little URL dictated my daily schedule and how badly it contributed to my anxiety. It became an obligation rather than an enjoyment and I won't let that happen again.

Previews of what's to come within the next week or so! I am SO EXCITED to share these posts.

I LOVE OUR NEW HOUSE! (taking a bath with the cousins)

DISNEY! Gaston was sorely lacking adequate chest hair for his character, in my opinion

CHRISTMAS! Santa needs to learn how to check dimensions ;)

And a few other important things that unfortunately lacked the adorable visuals...like stopping working, weaning off meds, and probably some sort of sentimental holy-crap-I'm-turning-30 post. That's right. I've only got 1.5 days left in my 20's so I'm off to enjoy them.

Happy New Year, friends!

Daunting

2013-11-11T21:02:00.000-05:00

Has it really been a month since I last posted? Since just a few days after my most recent entry I've been meaning to return here and tell you about any one of the handful of major things going on in our lives. But when I sit down at the computer and stare at a blank screen I don't know how or where to start.

So I'm just going to blurt it all out in one super long run-on sentence or else I'm afraid I'll never start posting again.

At Aurelia's 1 year appointment her doctor asked us to come back for a weight check due to slow growth ::insert mama bear growl here:: and then we signed a lease for a condo and we're moving right after Thanksgiving and just three weeks after that we're going to Disney World and Mike's boss has finally made up his mind and will not be moving the lab to another state and Carina still won't go to sleep before 9 PM most nights.

We're tired. Like, never-been-so-tired-in-our-lives tired. While the move may not seem like the smartest thing to do right now, we'd go even more crazy if we stayed here. We've completely run out of space and Aurelia is still sharing our room. And having only 1 toilet with a potty trained toddler is my personal version of Hell. "NOOO Mommy, it's MY turn to go peepee on the potty and I'm going to bring a book and I'm going to sit there for an HOUR." The new place has COUNT THEM....3 potties. Heaven.

Please don't let me go a month without stopping by here again. Something that used to be so familiar now feels so foreign. I don't think I even remember where to go to check comments. Oops.

Eff you doctor. I may be small but I'm clearly AWESOME.

No complaints here

2013-10-12T11:45:00.003-04:00

Yeah so about that on the bright side I'll be able to post more thing I said in my last post.

Obviously that hasn't happened. The last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of craziness but as I sit here comfortably on the couch with a kitty snuggled in my lap and two napping little princesses in the other room, I feel content, truly content for the first time in a long time. I'm taking stock of everything and I don't think I have any complaints.

I'm basking in the warm October sun coming through the window, listening to only the sounds of the ticking clock on the wall, the ocean waves white noise that I can hear through the wall to Carina's room, and the gentle purring of my cat. When Mike gets home from lab we'll be heading off to go apple picking and my heart is aglow with all I have to look forward to and all I'm surrounded by.

As quickly as my job said, "just kidding, you're done" they called again three days later and asked me back. So I started this past Monday, working a full day on Monday and Tuesday, and a half day on Wednesday. This will be my schedule through the end of the year. Our Nanny was able to stay on with us part-time so luckily and thankfully, everything has fallen into place.

This week we also went for a few apartment showings. We've decided not to renew our lease on January 1st since we're running out of space in our 2 bedroom 1 bath (which has been awesome for potty training let me tell you). We'll be signing a lease early this week to move into a 3 bedroom (+ playroom!) 2.5 bath condo on December 1st. SPACE, glorious SPACE! Can you tell how excited I am? The only difficulty might be trying to figure out how to set it up. More on that later...

Now I need to go find my camera, as it's been almost 2 months since I've taken any (non-iPhone) pictures of the girls. And I should probably change out of PJs. It's almost Noon ;)

Acccck...that's all I got

2013-09-30T20:58:00.001-04:00

I'm getting a breather for the first time in almost 2 weeks tonight.

First I was prepping for my Go-Live night-shifts, then 6 out of the next 7 nights I spent at the hospital, and last I was recovering and spending the weekend with my in-laws celebrating Mike's 30th birthday and saying goodbye to my brother-in-law, who just deployed to Afghanistan.

I was all set to come on here and tell you how great everything was going and how excited I was to have a whole week off from work before returning part-time next Monday...

...except that I got a call from my boss an hour ago letting me know that leadership changed their minds. The night shift last Thursday was it. Since at that time I had already signed a contract to continue on part-time, I didn't tie up any loose ends or finish my outstanding projects. So I leave my work in various states of disarray for my team to sift through and attempt to figure out in my wake.

It would have been fine if I had finished up last Thursday as originally planned. But to tell me I'm extended and then change your mind a week and a half later? We had already asked our Nanny to continue on with us.

I just can't even...

I loved this job and will miss it. Well, more time to blog, I guess? ;) ;)

Now please excuse me while I go eat half a bag of chocolate chips and have more wine. NEED more wine.

The Gs do Colorado

2013-09-11T20:47:00.000-04:00

Brace yourself for a massive photo dump.

Last week we headed out to Colorado Springs for a close friend's wedding. The best thing about this locale is that my best friend also lives there. We stayed with her and her adorable family for a long weekend.

Truth be told we were a little nervous about how this was going to go. We have flown with Carina a number of times (and it usually involves projectile vomit), and this was Aurelia's first time in the air. They were better than we could have ever expected! People on the plane fawned all over Aurelia and remarked how well behaved Carina was. The secret? We brought new toys, books, and snacks and this occupied their time for most of the duration of both flights each way.

Our weekend consisted of lots of play time for the girls, a trip to my best friend Maggie's Mom's pool club at the foot of the mountains (gasp! GORGEOUS), an afternoon at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, a beautiful wedding, and a few drinks. We left feeling surprisingly refreshed and relaxed and wish we could go back already.

Only 3.5 months apart - Abby and Aurelia are going to be best friends someday!

Sharing blueberries on the kitchen floor

At the Zoo - LOOK AT THAT CRAZY TONGUE

Proof that God has a sense of humor

Carina wasn't afraid to feed him

They don't look alike at all, do they? ;)

My best friend Maggie

Oh hai!

Carina's first ever carousel ride

Sister high-five...or was she trying to hit her? Not sure...

We asked Carina where she was going in the car, and she told us that she had to go to work. Mike probed further, "what are you going to do at work, Carina?"

"I gunna go do science!"

And then Mike's heart exploded. What an awesome trip.

Verdict: revisited

2013-09-03T21:13:00.003-04:00

Less than a month to go, and then I'll be home with these sweet faces all day long once again.

Well, they're almost always sweet ;)

I'm mostly excited, just one small part scared. I can't wait to have on demand snuggles again. I'm so happy to be able to finally start tot school (more on this soon). Now that the agoraphobia is gone I'm eager to get out with the girls more often. At the top of my list of things to do and places to go is story time at the local library, playdates with friends, and trips to the park. And dare I say I'm looking forward to the possibility of a "nap-while-they-nap" every once in a blue moon?

But I'm worried about my anxiety getting worse. While working has been more physically exhausting, it has been a much needed mental break for me. I think after 6 months, the verdict is the same: working and staying at home each have their pros and cons.

During my two stints as a working Mom I've been more tired and feel like I'm constantly trying to play catch up with housework and errands (I admit it: thank goodness for grocery delivery). We got take-out more often, I neglect to clip coupons or shop sales as faithfully as I did before, and we lapsed on the cloth diapers for a bit. We opted for disposables for the couple months leading up to potty training Carina. I just couldn't manage doing diaper laundry every other day.

BUT -- I love my job. It's fun, I get to use my brain, and help improve patient care throughout my local health system. And it certainly doesn't hurt that I get paid a buttload of money to do it. I will miss it and the break it afforded me. Being away from home has made me realize how mentally exhausting it is for me to be responsible for multiple people (in addition to myself) round the clock. I know that's what we sign on for when we become parents, I guess I just never anticipated that I would truly need a break on a regular basis.

So I'm still holding out hope that my consultant boss will be able to find me something part-time. I think two days a week would be my ideal situation. It would be the best of both worlds...more time with my little ladies and to make sure our home doesn't look like a scene out of Hoarders, but still a break to keep my sanity and some extra money in our pockets. Fingers crossed.

Bringing Dad to mecca

2013-08-27T21:53:00.002-04:00

Growing up, I loved going to Red Sox games with my Dad. I have the fondest memories of taking the green line into Boston, checking out the souvenirs on Yawkey Way, and stuffing my face with Fenway franks. I've joked with Mike that Fenway is my 2nd favorite place in the world (2nd only to Disney World, of course)

Earlier this summer, I received an e-mail from the Red Sox inviting me to Fenway (ME...seriously?) to share my thoughts and opinions on how to make the Fenway experience more family friendly.

You don't have to ask me twice, Red Sox. I drove up to Boston faster than Jacoby Ellsbury steals second. I could have brought Mike, or attempted Carina's first baseball game, but no...I knew who the perfect companion would be. He took me so many times growing up, now it was my turn to take him.

My Daddy

Before the round table with the Red Sox executives, they treated us to a private tour of Fenway including a few areas that are off-limits to everyone but season ticket holders, and let us watch batting practice on the field.

I might have a crush on Pedroia...don't tell Mike

Myself, a handful of other local bloggers, and the Red Sox marketing execs talked for an hour and a half about what would make a trip to Fenway easier and more fun for families. We discussed a number of options including family discounts, a kid-zone, and activities for kids. I also brought up the fact that there wasn't anywhere for me to pump or for breastfeeding Moms to feed their babies if they prefer not to nurse in their seats. The seats are tiny and I know there's no way my distracted nurser would be able to eat while everyone around us is cheering (or booing) ;)

I pumped in the VP of marketing's office -- gotta do what you gotta do

I was honored to be a part of this discussion and was so excited to see that one of our top suggestions -- a family discount pack -- was enacted so quickly! Sorry for the late notice, but for games through September 4th the Sox are offering "End of Summer Family Packs". This special includes:

Game tickets
Free parking in the Prudential Center Garage, brought to you by The Shops at Prudential Center
Free Boston Duck Tours ride from the garage to Fenway Park
Early entry to the ballpark through the family entrance at Gate C to watch batting practice in the bleachers
Activity booklets for the kids
Free Boston Duck Tours ride back to the parking lot

I wish we were able to go, but we'll be heading out to Colorado this weekend for a wedding...with the girls (please send wine). Maybe you'll be able to take advantage?

Pregnancy; you're drunk

2013-08-18T12:29:00.001-04:00

Let me preface this by stating that I am not currently pregnant. I knew you'd ask, so better to put it all out there.

This post isn't about the strange and unfortunate ailments with which you are afflicted during pregnancy. Nor did I write it to lament the pain of labor or the miseries of that post-partum hot mess phase.

No. I want to discuss the freakish and frustrating side effects of pregnancy that we still have to deal with even as we approach the one year anniversary of its conclusion.

If you have been lucky enough to not experience any of the below? Then you won the pregnancy lottery and I don't want to hear about it ;)

1. Unceasing hair loss

Just when you think it isn't possible to lose any more hair, you find gobs of it surrounding the shower drain or on your hairbrush. Or even worse...sticking out of the baby's diaper (how on earth did it get in there?!?) and in between her toes. When will it ever end? Oh that's right; last time it finally ended when I got pregnant again. The cycle begins again.

2. Weird new hair growth

THIS JOKE ISN'T FUNNY. I'm losing my hair, yet at the same time I'm finding new little tufts spring up in unwanted places. All along my hairline I have wispy curlycues popping up on a daily basis. They seem immune to hair spray and escape even the most secure clips. I haven't straightened my hair in a while because when I do they stick straight out. Should I cut them? CRUEL AND UNUSUAL, human body.

One of the random sprouts. And whoa, my forehead is wrinkly.

3. Linea nigra freakshow

The mystical little brown line that showed up early on while I was pregnant with Carina did me the favor of not reappearing this time around until a few weeks before Aurelia was born. For a while I thought it wasn't going to grace me with its presence again. Well, since the line was late in showing up it must think it's okay to hang out for a while. Aurelia is almost 11 Months old and that line is STILL there, just as dark as it was on her birthday. Talk about overstaying your welcome.

Curse you, damned dark line. And? My belly button used to be cute. Le sigh.

4. Bladder control

I still can't cough or sneeze without having to clench like the aridity of my pants depends on it. I get it, when you're pregnant you have something the size of a watermelon putting pressure on your bladder, and all goes awry. But when you shoot out that basketball and things return to normal, why can I not laugh heartily without wetting myself 11 Months later? And this gets worse after each kid, in my experience. Moms of 4+, can you even more without an errant squirt?

I know there's more, but of course I'm forgetting because that absent-minded pregnancy brain that we're plagued with eventually turns into Mommy brain, which is even worse. Lately I've been lucky if I remember to shower more than three times a week... #yuck

Recent happenings & parenting truths

2013-08-13T20:43:00.000-04:00

Our lives are all over the place right now. We have no idea if I'll have a job 6 weeks from now or even where we'll be living in 6 Months. It's hard for me to cope with this degree of uncertainty, having been a super type-A compulsive planner my entire life, but I'm slowly learning to adapt. Marrying a relaxed type-B with an often and indefinitely unpredictable schedule has been a good lesson in patience and going with the flow. When my work plans became just as up in the air as his -- if not more -- it really threw me for a loop. Fingers crossed I hear back from my boss regarding a remote position that may have just opened up...

Oh yeah, I think I forgot to mention (until the previous paragraph) that we won't be renewing our lease on January 1st. We have completely outgrown our 2 bedroom apartment. It looks like a toddler tornado tore through our entire living space on a daily basis and we've had to move Aurelia back into our room so they don't continue to wake each other up during the night. We are desperate for sleep and for our bedroom back. Now that Mike has decided that he'll be applying for positions for the Fall of 2015, we realize it's too long to stay here and deal with it. So apartment hunting we will go. On our wish list are at least 3 bedrooms, preferably 4 (or 3 + an office or finished basement) and in-unit laundry.

And now for something completely different.

This week's parenting truths:

The moment you're thinking about how brilliant your baby is will be the moment she shovels a handful of cat food into her mouth.

Having only one toilet in your house while potty training results in 1. many long minutes of frustration and 2. super awesome kegel muscle control.

Speculating about the possibility of {someday} having a baby brother or another baby sister around a 2 year old is a bad idea: "MOMMY I WANNA BABY BRUDDER!"

Okay, Carina. We'll get right on that ;)

News and a serenade

2013-08-07T20:52:00.000-04:00

It's official. There's no money in the budget to keep me on, so my last day of work will be September 27th.

I have mixed feelings about it. I'm really excited to spend more time with the girls again, especially now that Aurelia is mobile and beginning to speak. But I've loved being able to get back into the computer system and use my brain, and I know I'll miss it.

My boss at the consulting company will be looking for other opportunities for me but I'll wait for something local or that will allow me to work remotely. And part-time; I don't think I want to do full-time again. We'll see.

I'm looking forward to more of this...

Oh and P.S. -- she's basically potty trained. I changed her last diaper on Sunday morning and we haven't looked back. She's been in underpants round the clock since. Of course they're Disney Princess ones ;)

Big girl changes

2013-08-04T21:06:00.000-04:00

Hey there. Got any wine? Ha, who am I kidding...no amount of alcohol could ameliorate this level of exhaustion.

So what else would be helpful...an extra mop, maybe? Better yet, a tried and true way to keep your toddler in bed? Oooh or -- who wants to come over Saturday morning at 6 AM when the girls wake up so Mike and I can get some sleep for the first time in for-freaking-ever?

Saturday morning we ditched diapers. It's been messy and frustrating but ultimately, pleasantly surprising. We've let Carina run around bottomless for most of the last 48 hours and with her peepee in the potty prior to bedtime just now, we've got more hits than misses on the weekend. And luckily for all of us {and our hardwood floors}, there has not yet been any ploppage outside of the potty.

With each successful potty encounter we give her a handful of chocolate chips and dance (or, shake my butt embarrassingly) to our made-up potty song. No joke, it's "peepee in the potty" over and over to the tune of Wade in the Water. Yep, I just shook my head at myself, too.

Then we put a "Way to go!" magnet on Carina's little chart. Except she must be the only kid on the planet who would rather take the magnets off and put them back with all the rest. When I put one in the brand new "Peepee on Potty" row she yells "no!" and takes it off. So, despite the fact that none are displayed below, she has been successful 8 times so far. Fingers crossed for continued wins.

Sad lonely magnet chart

We thought that turning her crib into a toddler bed should go hand in hand, so that if she feels the need to get up at night to pee, she'll be able to. Before her nap on Saturday we took off the front panel of the crib and hoped for the best. She LOVES her "big girl" bed but we decidedly aren't fans at this point. She won't stay in it. Or go to sleep.

Right now it's 9 PM and she's still awake. Every 20 minutes or so we'll hear her turning the door knob and/or calling out to us. And here she is on cue, doing it again. Last night she wasn't asleep until just before 10 PM. That wasn't all...shortly after midnight she strolled into our room and jumped up into bed with us. I think we were too tired to bring her back at that point.

I'm so proud of our little girl and am so glad she's happy with her big girl changes but OMG TIRED. Did you go through this? How did you get your little one to stay in bed? Momma (and Daddydoo) need some sleep. STAT.

Oh, and send wine.

So guilty of 2nd child syndrome

2013-07-27T12:34:00.000-04:00

With Carina, I was *almost* perfect. Each of her milestones celebrated in great detail with pictures (and often videos) adorn the pages of this blog. Her monthly posts include sections about her size, favorite toys, and pictures with seasonal clip art proudly displaying how many months old she is. Multiple professional photos of her smiling face hang on the walls of our home.

Poor Aurelia is getting the shaft. I managed to squeak through her first 6 monthly posts before succumbing to what I {rather unaffectionately} refer to as my full-time-working-Mommy-brain. I mean to do these things, and I want to do them, but I just never get around to it. It's a combination of forgetting and not having the time, and ~~quite possibly~~ probably a dash of laziness. I have remembered to take some of the photos (like below -- from three months ago, ha!) but her 7 Month post never happened. And now I'd feel silly doing one since she's 10 Months, but these are too cute to not at least share.

The 8, 9, and 10 Month stickers sit unused in my camera bag and every time I see them I feel a pang of guilt. Is it too late to just slap them all on her right now and take a few pictures?

You've come so far since your 6 Month post. Tooth #7 is coming in (Carina only had two at this age!) and you can say Mama and Dada pretty clearly. You babble constantly; your favorite sound seems to be "heh" and depending upon the inflection it can mean a host of different things from "I'm so happy!" to "OMGSTOPTHATRIGHTNOW!" to "please give me your pancake".

At your 9 Month appointment earlier in July you were 18 lbs. 8 oz. and 28 inches, if Daddy is remembering correctly. You're sharing size 4 diapers with big sis and are mostly in 12-18 Month clothes. Although you are wearing some random 12 Month, 24 Month, and even 2T clothes. We use Carina's and your pajamas interchangeably most of the time. You'll wear it one day, and then {after washing, of course} she'll wear it the next. I'm having visions of fights over clothes during your teenage years ;)

Unlike your sister, you eat anything and everything imaginable. You out-eat Carina at most meals, favoring avocado spread on toast and spaghetti. Much to our delight (and dismay at the same time!) you began crawling just yesterday...and off you went. It's time to baby proof all over again. Our favorite milestones include "SO BIG!" which involves raising your arms high up in the air when we ask how big Aurelia is, and clapping on cue. You get so excited when we ask you to clap.

I'm going to try to get better about this, love. I want there to be as many pictures and videos of you in existence and I want you to feel that we celebrated your milestones and accomplishments as much as we did your sister's. We love you so much and have the best of intentions.