Kelly over at Kelly’s Korner is hosting a Singles Day for her Show Us Your Life blog carnival. I have one single sibling remaining, so I thought I’d show her off.

Please meet my baby sister, Diana.

Little D

Diana is a 31-year-old physician assistant living in Dallas. She has long brown hair (although I believe she’s sporting highlights now), big brown eyes, and is about 5 feet tall on her tippy toes and 95 pounds sopping wet. We call her Little D. That’s right, Little D in the Big D. She came up with that herself.

Diana Graduating with her Master's Degree

Diana may look like Miss Preppy McPreppy, but she’s actually a fun and quirky bookworm. Don’t get me wrong, she likes to look good and is a bit of a fashionista, but on weekends you are just as likely to find her in Starbucks reading a book as you are in finding her at the mall. If you’re in the mall, look for her in Forever 21. But at Starbucks, look for the girl behind a Beth Moore Bible study or a book with a gnarly medical title.

Do you have a Prince Charming in mind for her? Are you wondering if they’d be a match? Please take the following quiz to find out!

1. Let’s say that Little D and Prince Charming are sitting at an outdoor cafe enjoying a casual lunch when a bird poops on Prince Charming’s head, causing Little D to throw her head back and laugh hysterically. (Totally hypothetical situation. Not based on reality at all. Now please excuse me while I avoid the lightning.) What does Prince Charming do?
a. Curse quietly, pull out a BB gun, and kill the bird dead.
b. Start crying like a little girl and run from the premises.
c. Laugh while he wipes away the excrement with the comment, “It’s not my color.”

2. Little D and Prince Charming are sitting in Starbucks enjoying lattes when a few of their friends walk in. They just came from a stand-up comedy act and decide to unleash their own comedic “talent” by teasing Little D about her height. What does Prince Charming do?
a. Curse quietly, pull out a BB gun, and kill their friends dead.
b. Whip out his smartphone and google “short stature jokes” in order to get in on the fun.
c. Put his arm around Little D while flexing his “guns” and say with a note of finality, “Good things come in small packages.”

3. Little D and Prince Charming are wandering the mall when they run into a couple of Prince Charming’s female acquaintances. One of the women looks down her nose at Little D and starts flirting with Prince Charming. What does Prince Charming say?
a. “Step away from me, Jezebel, or I will kill you dead” while cocking his BB gun.
b. “You’re right, this shirt does look good on me” while glancing at Little D to make sure that she understands that he’s a wanted man.
c. “Have you met Diana? Doesn’t she have the most beautiful eyes?” while looking at Little D adoringly and removing Jezebel’s hand from his arm.

The correct answer to all of the above questions is C (as it is many college exams, but don’t take my word for it).

Did you answer C for every question?

If not, thank you for playing and good-bye.

But if you did, please comment below so that we can talk further!

No related posts.

This post is part of a series of posts intended to help my sister with her baby registry. Please see the other posts here and chime in with your advice!

Newborns do a lot of eating and sleeping, but eventually they’re ready for playing. Yay for baby! And yay for mommy! It’s hard to know what a baby will like, but there are some standards that you can try.

• Infant play gym – We have this one and really like it. It has lights, music, and lots of little toys to play with. You can remove the toys and move them around. Michael likes to play with it, too, and will lay under it when the baby is otherwise engaged. Too cute.

Cruz Playing in Play Gym - 4 months old

• Jumperoo – My boys both loooove the Jumperoo. They have both jumped until they passed out. Great exercise for high energy boys!

• Pack & Play – This is our generation’s play pen. We also call it baby prison. With Michael, I used it to give him a safe place to play while I cooked, cleaned, and brought in groceries. I even pulled it outside a couple of times on nice days so that we could be with Garrett while he worked on the yard. It folds up small, so we’ve taken it with us to our parents’ houses and to hotels.

Michael Playing in Pack & Play - 6 months old

• Mesh ball – Michael and Cruz both loved the mesh balls because they’re easy for little hands to grasp. And they have both tried to fit it in their mouths. And they have both been angry when it didn’t fit into their mouths. <sigh> Cruz plays with his mesh ball when he’s in the pack & play and sometimes in the swing.
• Musical Table – We have a previous version of this. It’s one of those toys that grows with the child. We got it when Michael was five months old. He was sitting by then, so we took the legs off so that he could play with it. As he started standing more, we put the legs back on so that he would get practice standing and cruising since he would slowly make his way around the table. Michael is 2 1/2 now and still plays with it.

Michael Playing with Musical Table - 7 months old

What items have your babies enjoyed playing with?

(Facebook friends, please remember to comment on the blog and not in Facebook so that everyone can benefit from your advice. Thanks!)

• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Sleeping
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Feeding
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Diapering/Hygiene

This post is part of a series of posts intended to help my sister with her baby registry. Please see the other posts here and chime in with your advice!

Going anywhere with little ones can seem like a circus. They need so much stuff. Just this past Sunday I took the diaper bag to church, but forgot Michael’s bag. So Garrett had to run to the drug store to get diapers for him to have in the church nursery.

Besides having to remember all the stuff, it can be emotionally draining to leave the house with the baby. I was terrified to go anywhere alone with Michael when he was a newborn. I hated having him so far away from me in the car seat. I drove super careful since I had precious cargo. And he hated the car seat for the first few months, so he cried a lot. My mother’s heart was weary by the time I got to my destination. If a product can make any of that better, I’m all for it.

• Diaper Bag – something that you can wipe clean and that has lots of pockets. Keep in mind that no matter how cute or expensive the bag is, it will one day hold a poopy diaper and burp cloths drenched in spit-up and drool. Awesome.
• Diaper Baggies – I really like this since I can hang it from the diaper bag and don’t have to dig around looking for baggies.
• Travel system – We have (and like) the Graco car base, infant carrier, and stroller frame. We tend to like Graco products in general.
• Car seat cover – These are so nice-looking and well-made. They’re great for keeping the sun out of baby’s eyes and for keeping strangers’ hands off of your little one while out and about. She also has a variety of prints. I have a brown and green one and have received so many compliments on it.

Cruz Sleeping Behind Car Seat Cover - 6 weeks old

• Soft mirror – It can be reassuring to glance back and see baby’s sleeping (or crying) face while driving. They can just be a real pain to set up.
• Shopping cart cover – Even if you’re not worried about germs on shopping cart handles, it’s nice for your little one to have a nice place to sit. The one I have also has a place to hang a toy, which is nice when your little one cares about that.

What are the must-have items in your diaper bag? What else would you not leave the house without?
(Facebook friends, please remember to comment on the blog and not in Facebook so that everyone can benefit from your advice. Thanks!)

• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Sleeping
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Diapering/Hygiene
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Feeding

This post is part of a series of posts intended to help my sister with her baby registry. Please see the other posts here and chime in with your advice!

Babies can be cute and sweet and just precious, but there’s a dark side to parenthood. There’s nothing I can say to prepare anyone for the responsibility of keeping a child clean. There are just no words. So I’ll go ahead and jump into the products.

• Diaper Champ – We have this one and love that we can use regular garbage bags with it. And it helps some in hiding the smell. But I admit, there are times that I walk into the nursery and feel like I’m walking into a wall of poop.
• Diapers – We use Pampers, which work well for us. I hear that Huggies are better for girls, but don’t know how true that is.
• Wipes – Again, I like the Pampers brand of wipes. The thicker, the better.
• Diaper rash cream – Continuing with the theme of “every baby is different”, Michael didn’t have a diaper rash until he was about nine or ten months old, but Cruz was probably only a month old when he had his first diaper rash. It’s so sad when they’re hurting, so have it on hand at all times. We use Desitin.
• Baby powder – I didn’t use much powder for Michael, but I do for Cruz since he sweats so much. A pediatrician told me to use it on any area of his skin that tends to get sweaty and trap moisture, causing the skin to break down, i.e. diaper area, underarms, baby folds. It has helped a lot.
• Contoured Changing Pad – We ended up using my old dresser in the nursery, which has worked out great since it’s long and has lots of storage. Throwing a changing pad on top also made it the changing table!

Michael on Changing Pad - 4 months old

• Baby tub with newborn sling attachment – We have one kind of like this.  Cruz outgrew the sling pretty quickly, but it was nice while it lasted, especially before the umbilical cord stump fell off since you’ve gotta keep that pretty dry. I’m not perfectly happy with it – it seems like it could be a little deeper or contoured a little better for baby’s comfort.
• Baby wash – Something tear-free. I personally don’t have a favorite. I tend to like a fragrance-free wash for sensitive skin since I have such sensitive skin and am afraid I’ve passed that on to my kids.
• Baby wash cloths – This definitely isn’t a must-have, but I like working with the smaller size of the baby wash cloth when bathing my little ones.
• Hooded baby towels – Babies are angry when they’re cold. Hooded towels help baby stay a bit warmer than they would with a regular towel. And they’re just so darn cute.

What am I forgetting? Are there any brands that you especially like?
(Facebook friends, please remember to comment on the blog and not in Facebook so that everyone can benefit from your advice. Thanks!)

• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Leaving the House
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Sleeping
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Playtime

This post is part of a series of posts intended to help my sister with her baby registry. Please see the other posts here and chime in with your advice!

The first few months, it seems like babies do more napping than sleeping. My firstborn didn’t sleep through the night until he was five months old. And he stopped as soon as he started. It wasn’t until he was about nine or ten months old that he started sleeping through the night regularly, and only because we let him cry it out. Ugh, it was awful.

My baby has slept like a champ since birth. I actually had to set an alarm to wake him up for feedings. He’s four months old and has slept for seven or more hours several times. If he were my first, I would have thought that I was doing something right. But he’s not, so I know better.

* Cradle Swing – we have this swing and absolutely love it. You can plug it into the wall so that you don’t have to deal with batteries. You can fold the legs to move it from room to room. The cradle part is soft and comfy and can swing back and forth or from side to side. It has music, nature noises, and a rotating mirror for baby. Cruz sleeps in it every night and during many of his naps. He sleeps much longer in it than he would just in the bassinet. My only complaint is that they don’t make one big enough for me to sleep in.

Cruz Strapped Into Swing and Watching Rotating Mirror - 6 weeks old

* Bouncy Seat – we have this one. I didn’t have one for Michael and wish I had. It’s great for naptime, feedings, or just for a safe place for baby to be if mommy needs to be hands free. I take it from room to room and have even taken it with us to other people’s houses.

Cruz Happy in Bouncy Seat - 12 weeks old

Cruz Asleep in Bouncer - 14 weeks old

* Pack & Play with bassinet insert – Cruz sleeps in the swing, but Michael slept in the pack & play bassinet in our room for several months. We’ll have to move Cruz to it when he outgrows the swing, which will be sooner than later since he’s a big baby. The pack & play also has a diaper changing station, which is how we change diapers in our room. We’ve  used the pack & play (after removing the bassinet insert) for travel, playtime, and timeouts.

Cruz Asleep in Bassinet - 6 weeks old

* Zippered Footie PJ’s – the button-up pajamas are fine for during the day, but the ones with the zippers are so much easier for night time when you’re changing a diaper half asleep.

* Velcro Swaddle Blankets – I will never be able to swaddle the way hospital nurses do even if I live a hundred lifetimes. These velcro blankets made that task a breeze for me.

Michael in Swaddle Blanket - About a week old

How about you? What made naps/nights easier for you?
(Facebook friends, please remember to comment on the blog and not in Facebook so that everyone can benefit from your advice. Thanks!)

• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Playtime
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Feeding
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Diapering/Hygiene

This post is part of a series of posts intended to help my sister with her baby registry. Please see the other posts here and chime in with your advice!

Many of us have the best of intentions when it comes to nursing our babies, but it just doesn’t happen for all of us. I’ve never been able to make enough milk, requiring me to supplement with formula. With Cruz, I did try Fenugreek to increase my milk supply, and it seemed to help some. But please talk to your doctor before trying any supplements. Also, it seems like most hospitals these days have lactation consultants that you can talk to after you have the baby, so I highly recommend that to a first-time mother, or even a second- or third- time mother. The lactation consultant I talked to after having Cruz warned me not to take Fenugreek until after my milk came in or I could run into some issues. That was very helpful advice!

Anyway, all of that to explain why you’ll see both nursing and non-nursing products on my list of recommendations.

• Formula – Formula is pretty pricey, so we buy Walmart’s Parents Choice formula. Which is still pretty pricey, actually. If I were a smart woman, I’d invest money in a baby formula company.
• Manual Br**st Pump – I rented nice electric pumps from the hospital for a couple of months for both pregnancies and even bought an expensive hands-free pump last time around. The hospital pumps worked well. The hands-free pump died quickly. Both were a huge hassle with the cord and tubes and many pieces that needed to be sterilized. Ugh. I just couldn’t ever get disciplined enough to use it regularly. But if you’re nursing at all, there are times that you need a pump, and a manual pump is an economic alternative. Even if you have a nice electric pump, the manual pump is nice to have for when you just need to pump a little milk quickly.
• Bottles with latex n*pples – I like the Playtex bottles with the drop-ins since they require much less cleaning. My older son didn’t seem to care what npple we used, but my younger son is much pickier about those things and prefers the latex ones.
• Nursing bras/shirts/PJ’s – It’s all about access. I didn’t put dresses on the list, but you’ll most definitely need a dress with easy access if you want to go out with the baby.
• N*pple shields – These really help at the beginning when nursing HURTS. I like these.
• Nursing pads for your bra – DO NOT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THESE. Did you see that episode of The Office where Kevin (I think) kept crying in front of Pam trying to get her to leak? Yeah, it happens. Just don’t let it be obvious to the rest of the world.
• Nursing cover – Because everybody doesn’t need to see your bizness.
• Burp cloths – Because burps aren’t the only things that come up.
• Receiving Blankets – These are great to keep baby warm, as a burp cloth, or as a barrier between baby and any surface that you want to keep free of spit-up (and blow outs).
• Boppy – Love, love, love. I used it for nursing, to prop up the baby next to me, and even to help him sit up.

Cruz Sleeping in Boppy (8 days old)

• High chair with 5-point harness and wheels – the 5-point harness is helpful when baby starts eating solids and isn’t always steady in a sitting position. And it keeps them in place when they fall asleep while you’re trying to give them sustenance in the form of pureed produce. A seat that reclines is also helpful in that situation. Wheels are awesome for flexibility. And they enable my 2-year-old to drag his chair to me when he’s demanding to be fed, so bonus. I also highly recommend a chair with a removable insert in the tray. It makes clean-up so much easier and gives your little one a nice surface for playtime. I can’t remember the brand of our chair and am too lazy to get up and look, but here’s one that has the features I like.

Michael Decorating Cookies - 2 years old

Michael Playing with a Collander and Pipe Cleaners - 2 years old

Michael Playing in High Chair - 2 years old

• Baby spoons – I like baby spoons with a long handle. It seems to make feeding time a tiny bit easier.

What am I forgetting? Do you have advice for feeding products?

(Facebook friends, please remember to comment on the blog and not in Facebook so that everyone can benefit from your advice. Thanks!)

• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Sleeping
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Playtime
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Diapering/Hygiene

So I’ve been MIA from the blogosphere for the last six months. If you’d like to know why, take a look at my last post and you’ll get the idea. I may have mentioned once or a hundred times that pregnancy ain’t easy for me, and it wasn’t any easier with a toddler to care for. I managed to get through Michael’s birthday party in July (which I really hope to write about one day!), but was pretty much an invalid for the rest of the pregnancy. I was exhausted, moody, in pain, moody, sick, and did I mention all the moodiness? I had the energy and mental wherewithal to do only the bare minimum, which included caring for my firstborn, very basic grooming, and complaining about how sick and tired I was. The bare minimum did not include blogging or housework, which was a shame because every corner of my house contained a crisis of cleanliness.

But then, on September 26th, this happened:

Garrett and I (and of course our firstborn, Michael) welcomed 8 lb 10 oz of pure adorable into our family. We named him Cruz Joseph, and he is most definitely a blessing!

I really hope to write his birth story some day when I’m ready to relive the drama of birthing baby Cruz. (And the pain. OH DEAR GOD, THE PAIN.)

But today isn’t that day.

Today I’m requesting your input on BABY GEAR because one of my sisters, Julissa, is expecting her own bundle of joy in the spring.



(Photo by Yamilette Arana)

Aren’t they cute? This is one of their engagement pictures.

Julissa needs to create the all-important baby registry. She asked for product recommendations, so I thought I might as well blog about it. Because here’s the thing: a product that one mother couldn’t live without is a waste of money to another mother. Every baby/family/situation is different. So I want to get advice from other moms.

For the next few days, I’ll dedicate each day to a particular category of products (see list below) and share the products I’ve found to be helpful (along with some general advice), but I would also love it if y’all would chime in and give your own recommendations in the comments section at the end of each post. Please, share your thoughts with us! Moms, this is a great way to be Titus 2 women and “teach what is good”! But even if you’re not a mom and have had a mom tell you, “Product XYZ changed my life,” I want to hear about it!

I would love for these posts to be super-helpful to Julissa and anybody else that is seeking baby registry advice, so please limit your comments each day to the particular topic for that day. And Facebook friends, please write your comment on the blog and not on Facebook so that everyone can see it and be helped by your advice.

(Also: consider this week’s posts a re-write of the list I made when Michael was a baby. Like I said, every baby is different!)

Today (Sunday): Stores with baby registries

Monday: Feeding

Tuesday: Sleeping

Wednesday: Diapering/Hygiene

Thursday: Products to make leaving the house easier

Friday: Playtime

Today’s topic: Stores with baby registries

When I was pregnant with Michael, I was working at an extremely demanding job, felt sick much of the time, and was just trying to get through each day. I looked forward to setting up the baby registry, but when the time came I felt overwhelmed. I did some research online, hoping to find the killer list of baby products, but didn’t see much consensus. I also felt weird about asking for gifts, which is the way I saw the registry. And on top of all that I just didn’t have much time to devote to it. So I ended up with a baby registry of random “stuff” without some of the things that really would have helped me out.

I wish I had devoted more time to setting up the baby registry because, at the very least, I would have had a list for myself of things I might need in the future. Of course, “need” is a relative term. All a baby really needs is food and a safe place to sleep (and a car seat or they won’t let you leave the hospital with the baby). But there are some smart people out there that have come up with products that can make life easier.

I ended up registering at Target and/or Walmart. I really can’t remember. What I do remember is that it seemed like those weren’t the best choices. I thought it would be easier for everyone since most people can get to one of those stores pretty easily. What I didn’t take into consideration is that you can buy many products online but not in the store. So I think people ended up feeling frustrated when they went shopping for a gift. I felt pretty bad about it. Then again, I was pretty moody. Did I mention that?

If I had it to do over again (which I won’t, because now that I have two beautiful boys the factory is CLOSED), I would have registered at Babies R Us because you can find just about everything there.

Do you have a suggestion for a store with a baby registry?

• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Diapering/Hygiene
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Leaving the House
• Baby Products That Make My Life Easier: Playtime

Kelly at Kelly’s Korner is writing “Week in the Life” posts this week, which has inspired me. I’ve wanted to get back on the bloggy bandwagon and keep a record of our daily ins and outs since I know that before I know it Michael will be graduating from college and getting married. But I kept talking myself out of it since I know in my heart of hearts that nobody (including Future Me) wants to read seven consecutive posts about me feeding my child, changing my child’s diapers, and watching PBS kids while my child harasses the pets. But today we actually got out of the house, which reminded me why I never leave the house, so I thought one Day in the Life post can’t hurt. Please bear with me.

I woke up at around 8:20 when I heard Michael jabbering on the baby monitor.

I know that all Good Moms wake up super early, get showered and dressed, make coffee, and eat breakfast while enjoying an extensive quiet time before their kids wake up, but that doesn’t happen at my house. I’m not what one would call a Morning Person. I’m more of a Late Afternoon or Evening Person. I’m also six months pregnant with an active baby and a bladder the size of a walnut. So nights are rough for me. Consequently, I usually wait to hear Michael waking up before getting up myself.

Michael usually wakes up at around 7am, but he went to bed late last night because my husband got home late from the grocery store, and then there was dinner and bath time and the evening just got away from us. (That’s right, after working all day my husband also went to the grocery store for me. Don’t judge me.) Usually Garrett will change Michael’s diaper and bring him to our room to cuddle with me if he’s still home when the munchkin wakes up. But since we got a late start to the day today, I went and got him. Michael gave me the sweetest grin when he saw me, reminding me that my child is a Morning Person and nothing like me. I changed his diaper and took him back to our room to cuddle and watch Sesame Street.

I had a Big Outing planned to Hobby Lobby this morning and Michael was already pretty wound up, so cuddle time didn’t last long. We brushed our teeth (one of Michael’s favorite things to do), made the bed, and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. We had microwave silver dollar pancakes and yogurt. Michael loved the pancakes, which means that tomorrow he’ll probably hate them.

During breakfast Michael spilled syrup on the floor. He usually throws food down on purpose, but this time it was an accident so I didn’t yell.

I wish I could say that I always speak in a soft calm voice like that lady with 19 kids, but that would be an outright lie. The truth is that my beautiful child often ignores the Soft Calm Voice and laughs at the Authoritative I-Mean-Business Voice. Which leaves me with the Yelling Voice. It seems like little boys especially find it easy to ignore talk and respond only to action, i.e. drop the talking altogether and get up and put the child in time out. But my little one ain’t no dummy and sees that mommy has a growing belly and can’t move too quickly these days. So when I see my little cherub throwing toys at the pets or playing with the dog’s food or climbing on something dangerous, yelling is all I have while struggling to get out of a seated position. I read something recently about how we can’t make plants grow by yelling at them, so there’s really no point in yelling at your kids. But I have yet to meet a plant with little ears.

Back to the syrup…I managed to get up and get down on the floor to clean that mess, all the while wondering how I was going to manage that kind of thing when I’m nine months pregnant. With the big belly and back pain and pelvic pain and general tiredness, that pretty much took it out of me.

I cleaned up the kitchen and got Michael dressed. Normally I dress myself first and get Michael dressed only when we’re about to walk out the door, but he needed a diaper change and there was no way I was going to chase him down (yes, he delights in making me chase him now while he laughs gleefully) and pick him up to put him on the changing table twice, so I went ahead and put his clothes on and hoped that he’d stay relatively clean until we left. By that point I was exhausted, so I sat down on the couch to finish my coffee while we (yes, I said we) watched PBS Kids.

Michael knew that we were going somewhere since he had his shoes on, so he was ready to go NOW. That motivated me to get up and get dressed. While I was getting myself presentable, he played with our toothbrushes and shoes while I used my Authoritative I-Mean-Business Voice to tell him to LEAVE THE SHOES ALONE.

Seriously, I don’t know what it is with him and shoes and toothbrushes. He just loves them. As a matter of fact, his punishment last night for pouring water out of the bathtub was that he didn’t get to brush his teeth.

You may have noticed that a shower wasn’t involved in my morning routine. That’s because I frankly don’t enjoy showering while yelling (see Confession #2) at Michael through the glass to stay out of my makeup drawer and put daddy’s floss back on the counter and stop pulling out all of the floss and put every single shoe back in the closet etc. etc. So I usually wait until he’s napping or in bed for the night before showering.

So now we’re both dressed and the mad dash for the door begins. I managed to get a load of towels in the washing machine before we left, which reminds me that I never transferred them to the dryer. #HomemakerFail

We’re in the car and I look at the time – 10:56AM, approximately an hour after I’d hoped to leave. Oh well. After two months of living here, I still don’t know my way around very well and have to look up the nearest Hobby Lobby on my iPhone. In my Google search results I see an ad for Hobby Lobby coupons, which reminds me that I forgot to look for a printable coupon for my shopping trip. #CouponerFail

I finally make it to Hobby Lobby and get excited. I spent a large portion of yesterday afternoon/evening looking up ideas for Michael’s second birthday party next week. So I was there to get supplies for some crafty decorating ideas.

It’s approximately 947 degrees outside, but I make it from the parking lot into the store without passing out. I pick Michael up to put him in the cart and smell a dirty diaper. I didn’t bring his diaper bag in with me because I didn’t think I’d need it and there’s no way I’m going to walk back out in that heat again without getting in the car and driving away, so I decide to get my shopping done quickly and change him afterward.

Of course, nothing is as easy as we hope it to be. I don’t know if you’ve been to Hobby Lobby lately, but it’s LARGE. Which requires a lot of walking. And searching. And hoping that what you’re looking for isn’t on the end of the store that you just left. Add to that an inquisitive toddler and cries of “don’t touch anything” and “I can’t believe you opened that now I have to buy it” and “mommy is such an idiot for letting you hold that” and you have a longer-than-expected shopping excursion.

We finally made it out of the store and into the car. I contemplated changing Michael’s diaper in the car before meeting Garrett at his office for lunch, but my tiny bladder was in pain and my nose was doing everything it could to fight off the diaper smell and I knew changing that diaper would result in me vomiting in the parking lot. It’s been at least ten years since I’ve vomited in a parking lot and don’t really care to relive those memories, so I just headed to Garrett’s office (which was only five minutes away) where either he would change the diaper or I could change the diaper and vomit privately.

We made it to Garrett’s office and he offered to change the diaper. It was a mess. Michael even ended up needing a change of clothes, which I was thankful to have. Wouldn’t you know it, a client walked in and talked to Garrett’s assistant while he was kneeling on the floor in his office in his suit changing Michael. And I was trying to figure out what to do with the dirty diaper so that the client wouldn’t be offended by it. I felt pretty bad about the whole thing, but at least the guy didn’t have to listen to me vomiting. Look at me trying to see the bright side of things! How unlike me. Just call me Pollyana.

Now that the little one is clean and good-smelling again, we head out to a Japanese restaurant for lunch. It’s already 1pm by this time, which is an hour later than Michael usually eats. Thankfully, I had cheerios in his diaper bag, which he munched on while waiting for our food. We have a quick lunch, drop Garrett off at his office, and head home. By this time Michael and I are both exhausted. He starts falling asleep in the car, so I start being silly and make him laugh. That usually doesn’t work, but for some reason today it did.

We get home and Michael at first refuses to go in because he wants to play with the garage door handle. That was a first. I finally get him inside and he gets his second wind and starts running around like crazy. I knew that he was super-tired and more than ready for a nap, but he decides to play hide and seek (another first) and takes off running while laughing gleefully. I’m not fast enough to keep up with him and the little stinker knew to stop laughing when he got to where he was hiding, so I resort to the Yelling Voice (again, see Confession #2): “Michael! Thomas! Come here!” I hear his “you’re no fun” whine from the study and walk toward it. He’s walking toward me with a pouty face. God help me, I love that little pouty face.

I get him down for a nap and feel the vomit rising. The Texas heat and exertion of the morning has me overheated and I throw up my lunch. But at least I made it to the bathroom in time (there I go being all Pollyana again). I then realize that I forgot to bring the bags in from the car. So I go back outside to do that in the 976 degree heat and thank God for air conditioning. I get my bags inside, but now I can’t find my phone. I look all over for it, even go back out to the car, but can’t find it. I’m frustrated with myself for wasting precious nap time and assume I left it in Michael’s room. I hope that nobody calls while he’s sleeping, then remember that nobody ever calls me so I’m probably safe. I finally sit down and see the phone sitting on a shelf in the entertainment center as soon as my fanny touches the couch. How did that happen? I struggle to get up again and retrieve my phone, finally able to settle in and start planning the menu for Michael’s birthday party.

Michael takes a short nap and the rest of the afternoon is a blur of goldfish crackers and PBS Kids and “stay away from the dog’s food” and time outs. There was also a half-hearted attempt at resuming potty training somewhere in there, but I just didn’t have it in me today. Garrett got home and we ate leftover KFC from the night before.

I just love this kid.

Then it was time for a bath. Garrett gives Michael a bath when he gets home in time, which thankfully he did today. Once he was dressed in his pajamas, Michael came out to play a little longer and pick up his toys.

I just love it when he’s all clean and in his pajamas. I just think he’s the cutest thing, especially with a grin behind that paci. The poor thing doesn’t realize that his paci’s days are numbered.

Then it was time for a good night kiss and Garrett took Michael to his crib. No matter how the day has gone, I always hate to see Michael go to bed for the night and miss him the second he’s out of the room.

I hoped that being a parent would teach me something about the heart of God, and I haven’t been disappointed. We’ve had a lot of changes and upheaval in the last few years, and there have been a lot of moments of loneliness and wondering if God has forgotten about me or is terribly unhappy with me. Then my little toddler will act out in a way only toddlers can, and that frustration comes to the surface, but I look at my son and feel so much fiery motherly love for him that I can barely stand it. And I realize why God continues with us, why Jesus came to die for us, and why I am not without hope – because God is love.

Once Michael was in bed, we watched the last few episodes of season 2 of 24 on Netflix while I did some things to get ready for Michael’s party. We came to bed at around 10pm, but I was determined to write this post tonight. So I’m up way later than I need to be, hoping that Michael sleeps in tomorrow, and thinking that a day at home is what we need.

Good night!

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Well, here we are, two months since my last post. I wish I could say time flies when you’re pregnant, but that would be a complete fabrication. The truth is that time slows down to a painful crawl. At least for me it does. Birthing babies is a difficult thing for me. Don’t get me wrong – I’m so thankful and grateful for the ability to conceive and carry a child to term. I know that a lot of women struggle with that. But the fact is that I don’t have easy pregnancies. Maybe it’s my age (I’ll be 37 when this one is born) or my lack of athleticism (I’m a couch potato at heart, although I tried really hard to get stronger and healthier before getting pregnant this time around). Or maybe it’s just the way God made me. For whatever reason, I find pregnancy to be a really difficult thing.

But it’s totally worth the outcome.

Here’s my firstborn this past Mother’s Day:

May I pause for a minute and just tell you how crazy I am about this child? He is the absolute light of our lives. In my eyes, he is the most darling child to walk the face of this earth. Michael is energetic, funny, silly, affectionate, smart, creative, and extremely independent. He tries so hard to be helpful and loves being around people. And although he’s not quite two years old, he’s already become quite the flirt. So yes, my pregnancy with him was difficult and stressful, and sometimes I think that the toddler years will get the best of me, but I would do it all over again to have him in our lives.

As a matter of fact, he’s the reason that I was willing to go through the pregnancy thing again. After all, if all that toil and travail produced a kid this awesome, what’s a few months of pain and discomfort? So here we are, almost six months pregnant with baby #2.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand….it’s a BOY! The Maddox household will officially be overrun by testosterone, noise, and toy cars. We can hardly wait for the day that we get to watch our two boys playing together. I pray so much that they’ll be good friends and have similar interests. And Michael is such a people person that I’m sure that he’ll be a great big brother.

Would you mind if I made a couple of prayer requests? If you think of me, I would appreciate prayers for energy, focus, and good moods. I normally take medication to help balance my moods, but I can’t do that while I’m pregnant or nursing. I also tend to have a lack of focus when I’m not taking medication. Consequently, life can be pretty difficult sometimes. I’ve hesitated to mention this before since this kind of thing carries such a stigma in the church, but since I still have a few months to go in this pregnancy and hope to nurse for at least six months, I’m totally depending on God to help me in this area. I know that everyone has their own issues, but I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask for a little help with this.

If you do think to bless me with a prayer, thank you so much! I pray that you’ll also have someone to pray for you when you’re in need.

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So last week I got an email from a dear friend from high school asking me if anything was wrong because I hadn’t updated the blog in a while. I was about to write her back with a  detailed explanation of my absence from the blogosphere as of late, then thought that if I was actually going to string words together into sentences, and possibly even paragraphs, I might as well do it on the blog. So Gloria, this one’s for you.

But it’s late, I’m tired, and completely distracted by the new season of The Real Housewives of New York, so instead of updating y’all with a fancy schmancy essay form, I’m going to leave you with a list. It’s all I’ve got in me right now.

1. First with the big news – I’M PREGNANT!!! I’m just starting my 15th week. We should know the gender of the baby in about a month.
2. Pregnancy symptoms abound. Those of you that had the misfortune of suffering through my posts describing my first pregnancy may remember that I had “morning sickness” throughout my entire pregnancy. My beautiful baby boy was totally worth it, but I’ve been dreading going through that again. It wasn’t looking good there for a while, but I’m now in my second trimester and things in the vomit department have gotten a bit better. I’m really hoping that this pregnancy turns out different in that regard.
3. But the constant vomiting was the least of my concerns for a while there. I started getting some scary asthma attacks and felt like my body was completely rejecting me. The scariest part of the whole thing was that I was terrified that I’d be out and about with my son and pass out, leaving him alone. Seriously, just the thought was enough to send me into a panic attack. After seeing a pulmonologist, asking some probing questions, and putting some things together (we’re our own best advocates, ladies), I’ve realized that acid reflux (the bane of pregnant women everywhere) is inducing breathing problems. Who knew? I sure didn’t. I had no idea that I was suffering from acid reflux, or that it could have anything to do with breathing issues. Now that I know and can manage it, my breathing issues haven’t been nearly as bad.
4. Speaking of vomiting (I know, I know, I just can’t stop), a complication has developed in the form of my son. When I was pregnant with Michael, I was working at a Large Computer Company, where my biggest vomit-related worry was making it to the bathroom in time. I’m proud to say that there was only one time that I had to resort to the trash can in my cubicle (much to the chagrin of the men in the cubicles around me, I’m sure). This time around, I’m a stay-at-home mom and have easy access to a bathroom most of the time. I also have a 20-month-old son that watches my every move and has become quite the mimic. He is fascinated by the whole vomiting thing, to the point that I even caught him bending over his potty one day acting like he was throwing up. With sound effects even. It was an Oscar-worthy performance. But he’s given up mimicking that behavior in favor of pulling up a ring-side seat, so to speak. He likes to watch the action up close. Very up close. And there’s only so much room over the toilet bowl. So while I’m throwing up for the tenth time that day I’m also pushing aside his head so that the “remains of my day” don’t end up in his hair. With that admission, I freely give up any claim to the Mother of the Year award.
5. Besides all that, Michael and I both suffered from sinus infections in February. DURING THE COLDEST WEEK OF THE WINTER IN HOUSTON. WHILE MY HUSBAND WAS OUT OF TOWN. AND WHILE I WAS KNECK-DEEP IN PREGNANCY-INDUCED EXHAUSTION. What can I say, February was awful. February 2011 will go down in history in the Maddox household as The Month of Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth.
6. My husband was out of town because he was in training with his new firm. Yes, a job change in the middle of all that. A job change that has required an hour commute each way. And very long work days. Along with all the accompanying stress.
7. Neither of us can live with that commute, so we’re moving next week. MOVING. Which has required looking for a place to live. And finding people to rent our house. And packing boxes. And realizing that the packing will never get done so hiring packers. And making plans. And calling utility companies. And reading and signing contracts. While pregnant, sick, and oh-so-tired. And while taking care of an ACTIVE toddler.
8. So yeah, I haven’t spent much time on the blog lately. I’m strictly in Survival Mode. Hoping to shift gears sometime soon. After the move. And the unpacking. And getting ready for baby. <sigh>
9. Come to think of it, I’m planning to start potty-training Michael a couple of weeks after the move. Oy vey. No rest for the weary. But it’ll be worth it if he’s out of diapers before the baby comes. Or even before I get too big. My little one delights in making me chase him while he laughs gleefully whenever he has a dirty diaper. And the bigger he gets and the more he eats, the dirtier those diapers get. Which was also a joy while suffering from morning sickness and increased sensitivity to smells. For a while there I had to pray through every diaper change. (I just can’t stop talking about the vomiting. It’s an illness.)
10. I need a number 10, so I’ll end with my thoughts on the American Idol results tonight: I was surprised (although not completely disappointed) by the person that was let go and totally blame the Gwen Stefani outfit. It was a big Fashion DON’T.

The End.

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