It was only a matter of time...

...before CJ got his first goose-egg on his head. He's gotten pretty good at walking - heck, he just wanders around the house just because he can. However, he is very much like his mom and is very impatient ... he wants things faster than he can have them and that includes getting from point A to point B. Needless to say, he's been tripping a lot lately because he's trying to walk faster than his body will allow. It was just a matter of time before he ended up looking like this:

You should see the other guy...

Basically he got over excited at daycare and was walking faster than he could manage and fell face first into the wheel on a crib. SInce I wasn't there for his initial reaction or to witness it happen (probably would have been in slow motion for sure), it hasn't quite phased me. Sure, I feel bad that my little baby has a big bump and bruise on his forehead, but from what I can tell, it really hasn't phased him.

And to be honest, it shows his character. He is going to be a troublemaker. He has no fears whatsoever and I have no doubt that this is just the first of many bumps I'll be kissing. And of course, he had to do this a week before his 1st birthday - nothing says "I'm one year old" like a big bruise on your forehead!

On my first Mother's Day eve...

After throwing my hands up int he air after messing up several cuts on my Cricut scrapbook machine, I realized that it had been a very long time since I last sat down to write about motherhood and my super sweet baby (who is almost ONE YEAR OLD already!). Granted, no one reads this on a regular basis...

Anyway, I'm in the midst of scrapping CJ's first year of life, month by month. The goal is to complete this mammoth project before we fly to Chicago for his birthday party ... so I've got 2 weeks and a few days to get this done and stitched up. The layouts for birth through 8 months are complete and I am currently fighting with month number 9 tonight. (with my Mother's Day gift from John - I'll get to this in a bit)

It's not even Mother's Day yet and I feel so loved and appreciated. I have been showered with cards, well wishes, two bouquets of flowers and a new toy that is fabulous. John got me a new scrapbook die-cut machine and I am fascinated, albeit, a little frustrated as I try to figure out how to use. But after I kept fighting with it and messing up, I decided to call it a night. The rest of my Mother's Day gift will be to spend a good chunk of tomorrow scrapbooking, which will bring me much closer to completing CJ's baby book. I want it to be something he cherishes. I always give my mom a hard time because my brother has this very detailed and elaborate baby book with memorabilia and then mine is just this skinny book with key milestones jotted. The second child tends to get a little less attention to detail, but the love definitely didn't lack. Which brings me to why I'm writing...

After being showered with love and attention on the eve of my first Mother's Day, I started thinking about my mom and her mom. I love being a mom and it has so much to do with those two women. They are by far the two most important women in my life - my mom is my best friend and my Granma is my old soul buddy (we share a love of writing and reflecting on this wonderful thing called life - she is my inspiration and my motivator for sure).

The intense passion and bond that each of them share with their children is the reason I am the mom I am and why I care so deeply about my son. Not only does he deserve this love and affection because he is my son, but because I was so well nutured and cared for as a child and a grandchild (and my mother as a child and grandchild), it would be wrong not to pass that feeling on.

I never realized the impact that my child's emotions and feelings would have such a profound effect on me. When he is sad (especially when those big tears well up and he blinks and the glistening bead just rolls down his face in - what seems like - slow motion), my heart hurts. If I would have know this a long time ago, as a teenager mostly, I wouldn't have done or said a lot of things. However, I think that is part of growing up and part of appreciating motherhood.

Not only do I appreciate motherhood, I appreciate my mom. She did a heck of a job raising me and my brother. Not that I'm trying to brag or anything, but we've got pretty good heads on our shoulders and have turned out to be pretty well-adjusted. And we are loved. We are loved by her, unconditionally. She may not always agree with us, but for me, I know she's always on my side in the end.

And Granma is a beacon, something to continue to strive towards as I carry on in this journey as a mom. She passed on a sense of compassion, devotion, authority and responsibility to my mom that I do my best to carry on each day. She's the matriarch of our family and someone I admire. She continues to follow her passion and write all of the time. It's quite amazing, actually. She's the reason I'm writing this right now - I love to write, but rarely make the time for it...so this is where I'm starting.

Back to the topic of Mother's Day ... the saddest part of my Mother's Day is that I won't be able to spend it with these two wonderful women. But as they say "near or far, we're always close at heart." We are infinitely connected through the mother-daughter bond (and effectively, a mother-daughter-granddaughter bond as well). It will never be broken and it will always be a live in me.

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and Granma. It may be a "Hallmark Holiday" nowadays, but I think it makes us stop and think about our moms and grandmas and all the other moms in our lives. Being a mom is hard and the appreciate isn't always there, so a day like this is nice to have to just take a moment and be thankful for those wonderful women in our lives. Everyone has a mother and I'm pretty positive my mom and her mom are some of the best around.

Thoughtful Tuesday

Memories aren't made ... they are lived and re-lived in our minds and hearts. Cherish each day, embrace the chaos and live these moments from beginning to end.

Monday Memories: Flying and walking

It's always a whirlwind (but fun) time when Simon and Annabel are home. CJ always gets so excited to see them and I know they love spending time with him as well. Now that he is more active and mobile, the interaction amongst them is fun to watch.

Overall, the week was a blast. We kicked it off with a trip to Typhoon Lagoon which ended up being the highlight of the week for Annabel. CJ enjoyed himself as well - a big step up from our last outing at a water park-like place. On the Disney Dream, he hated the splash zone, but at Typhoon, he had a blast, playing in the Ketchakiddee Creek, letting the waves hit him in the wave pool and floating down the lazy river in his own innertube. I had a blast and John, Simon and Annabel were able to enjoy some of the big kid slides (I even got to go with the kids on Crush 'n' Gusher).

John had taken the week off of work, so him and Simon and Annabel enjoyed a different adventure every day doing everything from visiting the Science Center (playing at their favorite exhibit - the orange tree) to surviving an almost tornado on the way to Monkey Joes.

The week ended with a trip to the Sun n Fun air show. This was my first air show and I loved it. It was CJ's first air show and he was on the fence about it. Simon and Annabel seemed to keep forgetting that we were at an air show, so I'm not sure how they felt about it. CJ cried a few times because unbeknownst to me, those planes are crazy loud. We saw the Raptor F-22 and then the show ended with an awesome, cry-inducing (CJ) show by the Blue Angels.

However, my favorite things this week were a few milestones that CJ hit. I can't believe how excited I get over the simplest things. Being a mom makes the world's problems seem so small and so big at the same time. They shrink in comparison to things like CJ figuring out how to drink out of a sippy cup (which he did at the airshow) or taking his first steps! I literally squealed with delight when he took a few steps (and even after he has done it several times, I still get equally excited - watching my little man grow is better than any trashy reality show). But then the world's problems seem so big because I want my baby to grow up in a way similar to how I grew up. Thinking about things like 2012 really bum me out (ask John, I've gotten to tears thinking about it). I want to see CJ go to his first day of school, help him through whatever activities he chooses to do, support him in all of life's big moments. I want there to be those moments, none of this 2012 talk!

So, I'm going to hold on and cherish every moment with my wonderful family. Coming home after a stressful to a smile from my baby and a hug from my best friend and husband washes away all my worries, at least for a minute or two.

Sunday shopping scorecard (a day late)



My super-intense drawing project
(drawing fabric pinned to the wall)

 After a week of having a full house and working on an intense project for my drawing class, I decided to take some time on Sunday to just sit. Not watch TV, not do homework, not check Facebook. Just sit (and snuggle with John and play with CJ). 

My mind and body really needed a break from the constant activity and sitting hit the spot. Needless to say, I did not successfully kick off my plan for blogging each day. I’ve got the outline of what I want to write about each day, but my body had become one with the floor and my heart was happy just to be enjoying my family on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

My happy little boy
just playing on Sunday afternoon

So here’s my Sunday shopping scorecard a day late…
On Saturday, with the hope of new job possibilities on the horizon, I decided I needed to pick up a few additional pairs of dress pants because I am taking the advice of “dressing for the job you want” seriously. But of course, I refuse to pay full price for pretty much anything, including clothes. And where can you ALWAYS find a deal on decent quality and fashionable clothes? New York and Company. There is always some kind of sale (BOGO) or coupon available. This weekend happened to be the end of a season (I assume) and everything, yes, everything, in the store was 50% off. I bought 3 pairs of pants, 3 shirts and a watch for a relatively low price. I am now dressed head-to-toe in New York and Company attire in preparation for a chance meeting with future bosses. Hopefully the great deals will pay off (literally) and I won’t have to always look for a deal.

Yeah, right, who am I kidding, I always look for deals, even at discount stores like TJ Maxx and Marshalls! I’m forever a discount digger thanks to years of following my mom around store after store when she wasn't chauffering me from sporting event to sporting event.

My grocery shopping was light this week mostly because I didn’t have a whole lot of time to rifle through my stash of coupons before heading to the store. We wanted to get something going in Crockpot, but were missing a few key ingredients. (We still haven’t been able to find cream of cheese soup anywhere, so John ended up making it from scratch yesterday.) Due to the making of the cheese soup and the chicken being frozen, we weren’t able to start the crockpot meal. So we’ll be having that on Tuesday night.

Back to the grocery trip…so I didn’t get a whole lot, but most everything I bought, I had a coupon for AND it was on sale. The Gerber GoodStart coupon was back in the Publix ad and I was so bummed because the additional $5 coupons I have expired 3/31/2011. But as luck would have it, I received a coupon envelope from Gerber on Friday with a $5.25 formula check for Gerber GoodStart 2. For the third week in a row, I was able to get a can of formula which costs $19 for less than $10. That’s a steal. Too bad I didn’t have a second check, or I would’ve stocked up on another can. CJ is an eating machine lately - must be going through a growth spurt (I hope). Beyond that, I bought more baby food since Earth’s Best was BOGO and I had a manufacturer coupon.

Overall it was a good weekend. I saved a total of $21.50 (paid a total of $39.69) at the grocery store. It’s a fun game, seeing how much I can save and still buy the things I like/need. Couponing saves me money that I’m able to spend on fun outings (like going to Typhoon Lagoon and the Sun n Fun air show) or on my precious little baby because I am quite the sucker for baby clothes.

More about the fun family time tomorrow along with a second post ... need to catch up.

When the dishes CAN'T wait

Sometimes the house just needs to get cleaned and cleaning it can be quite the challenge when a baby is trying to sleep or when a momma's boy is constantly interrupting you.

Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who happily lugs the little guy around with him to home improvement stores for a few hours so I can get the house cleaned, interruption-free.

Once the house is clean, I feel like I can be a better mom and wife. Instead of worrying about how dusty a room is or thinking about the stack of dishes in the sink, I can focus on playing with CJ and bonding as a little family.

As much as I wish I didn't have to clean, it has to be done. And even though I try to clean throughout the week, it still gets pretty bad every few weeks. Kids are messy. Husbands are messy. Pets are messy. But this family is what keeps me going, so it's all worth it as long as we're all together at the end of every day.

CJ isn't always a momma's boy

I love the persistence and focus that CJ has once he learns something new. Just this week, he's really caught onto waving. As I was leaving daycare after placing him down on the playmat, he pulled himself up on the jumperoo and looked towards the door. As I reached for the door, I glanced back to see him flapping his whole arm at me, waving "goodbye." It was breathtaking. My heart fluttered and I said "Aww, he's waving to me. He's getting so big." And beamed the whole morning just thinking about it. [Facebook status:My little man waved "bye" to me this morning. Made my day!]

Now he waves at EVERYTHING. Yes, everyTHING. Cars, the TV, people, animals. It is absolutely precious, but the best thing he waves at is his daddy. [Note: I haven't really gotten into this yet, but CJ is such a momma's boy most of the time.] When John walks into the room, especially at the end of a week day, CJ beams with excitement, jumping up and down and flinging his arm around, waving. Watching the excitement on both of their faces makes every worry and stressor from the day disappear. This is what life is about - sharing joy with those you love and seeing your little one grow and learn each and every day. From there, it turns into peek-a-boo and trading big smiles with daddy.

But the initial wave and excitement he expresses towards his dad is what I've waited for since CJ is such a momma's boy. Witnessing their interactions and the bond they are creating is inspiring.

Babies don't care about what toys they have

Despite all of the sales advertisements, commercials and TV shows telling you to get the latest and greatest toys, babies don't need all of those toys. Sure, babies need toys/activities that facility their development, but something as simple as a foam letter or burp cloth can do the same. We have toys in almost every room of the house, but let me tell you, I think we have only purchased about 3 percent of those. The rest were gifts or things Grandma bought when she visited.

Toy from GG

My grandma (GG to CJ) bought this turtle filled with balls (you know, the ones kids jump around in at Chuck E. Cheese). The picture shows a baby sitting in the balls in the turtle. That's great in theory, but I think CJ only sat like that for a picture to send to GG and ever since then, he's just been focused on chewing on the balls. He LOVES them, but not the way the toy company envisioned, which is fine. All I'm saying is that these big fancy toys are just things to babies. They are the same as a shoe or a hair brush or a burp cloth.

But what's more important than what toys he is playing with or what non-toy items he finds appealing is how we, as parents, are working with him to develop as a human being. Are we spending enough time reading to him? Are we focusing on the right developmental skills for his age? Should we be looking for additional developmental aids? So many questions, but again, like John has told me many times, parenting is an art, not a science.

Content chewing on his sock.

So the way I see it is, as long as he's happy, all is well. If he is happy chomping away on a foam letter made for the bathtub, then so be it. If he wants to play with the Lil Zoomers Spinnin' Sounds Speedway, more power to him. Or if he just wants to snuggle up while we read a short book before bed, well, that's my favorite. Not only do babies not need every toy in the advertisement, but I don't need every gizmo and gadget - holding my baby close and enjoying him at that moment is better than any toy man can create.

Kids are tougher than they appear

Any time CJ bumps his head or falls down creates an overwhelming feeling of guilt and I am almost positive that my name is being added to an imaginary book of the worst mothers in history. It's hard to ever accept that these things happen, even though I know these kinds of things happened to me as a child.

When I was just about a year old, I climbed up the stairs behind my mom and when I got to the top, she thought I was up there with her so she kept walking. Little did she know I had decided to try to sit up on the top step. Before she knew it, I was rolling down the 12 stairs I had just crawled up. Luckily I rolled like a barrel and ended up being fine, just a bit shaken. She probably ended up feeling way worse than I did because a kiss and a hug made it all better for me. For her, the guilt and thoughts of "what if" hounded her for hours and no words or actions could console her.

TIP: Once your little rugrat starts trekking around on hands and knees (or doing the worm like mine did in the beginning) put up those gates. You may think they can't crawl up the stairs yet and with the blink of an eye, they'll be pulling themselves up and testing the strength of your heart. Babies catch on quickly and move even faster.

How about the time I ran inside from playing baseball with my brother and his friends...holding my head and crying? After deciphering what had happened through my sobs, my mom saw the egg-sized bump above my right eye. My brother had accidentally clobbered me in the head with an aluminum bat during his turn at the plate. It was actually my fault, as I was probably standing too close. But nonetheless, my mom did all she could to stop the initial pain and shock. And then she had to relive the moment of me sobbing in her arms each time I saw her until the lump and bruise disappeared over the next week. Even though it was out of her control, it's a mother's instinct to feel like she should be able to protect her children at all times.

But without these moments, kids won't learn on their own. In the first incident, I don't know that I learned anything because I was so young, but the second one, I was about 7, so I learned to stand far away from the person who has the bat. Regardless, my mom sure felt like the worst mom in the world, much like I did the first time CJ decided he wanted his lip to meet the bedside table.

The dishes can wait

The first nine months on the journey of motherhood have taught me countless lessons about life, love, family, patience, and of course, children. My husband always reminds me that "parenting is an art and not a science" but I thought I would at least get some lessons down on paper for those of us who like to have some kind of guide to what we are doing...even if no child is the same. At the least, this will provide new moms with some comic relief or just plain relief in knowing that we are not alone in the journey and we aren't as clueless as we feel sometimes. So stop multi-tasking and enjoy the ride. The dishes can wait.