Wordless Wednesday - Handsome Devil

Karma bites back

A couple of weeks ago I decided that on Tuesdays I would post what I would consider my "bad mommy of week" moment. I think most moms have these moments. Times where you dropped the ball (like not bringing backup clothes to daycare) or you did something with your little one that you instantly realized was a bad idea (like giving them a baby spoon to play with which they immediately try to shove back deep in their mouth/throat). I thought this would be a fun little series where I would record my silly little mistakes for people to chuckle over or chime in with similar mistakes and it would also help me get into the regular rhythm of blogging. Mondays I would do the McFatty posts, Tuesdays the bad mommy award, Wednesday a cute picture for Wordless Wednesday.... Good idea, right? Sure! Well, that is until my bad mommy moment resulted in tears - his and mine, but more importantly his. And suddenly my funny little series isn't so funny any more.

A couple of weeks ago I was scrambling to get out the door to take Fussy Gus for his six month check-up. Weekday mornings are hectic at my house -- we're not very organized, but it was even more hectic that day because my husband was away on a business trip and I was doing it solo. We were just about to leave the house, I put the baby into his car seat bucket thing and realized I forgot something in the kitchen. What I forgot, I have no clue. I remember thinking to myself that I should buckle him in, but he'd be fine for a second so I choose not to and went into the kitchen which is just a few steps away. I wasn't gone a couple of seconds when I heard the awful noise of Fussy Gus hitting the floor. He flipped himself out of the car seat and landed face down on the hardwood floor. Worse, the car seat had been on the ottoman, so he fell about two feet. My heart stopped. He immediately cried. I scooped him up and was able to comfort him so that he stopped crying pretty quickly. Shaking I righted the car seat, got him into it, grabbed the diaper bag and rushed to the doctor's office. On the way there I called my sister and started bawling about how I dropped the baby. She assured me he'd be fine and luckily he was.

I don't know if I would have taken him to the doctor's since I knew what to look for with a head injury, but since we had the appointment I damn sure was going to have look at him. The doctor probably would have asked since he had an angry red mark on his forehead from the fall, but I told her what happened and she examined him. He was fine and then I got the lecture and rightfully so -- I screwed up. From there we went to daycare and I had to tell them what happened and they had to document that he came in with the mark on his head so that they wouldn't be held responsible for it. And then I told my husband. Each time I told someone I was just reinforcing the feeling that I was the worst mom in the world.

I know accidents happen. I certainly never meant for him to fall and thankfully he wasn't hurt, but ever since that moment I feel sick that I had using my little mommy mistakes as a source of content for a blog. I felt like it was karma getting back at me. Am I being a bit over dramatic? That's the thing -- I know I am. But I can't shake the feeling, so while I'll continue to share my experiences of things that I do right, wrong and ass-backwards, it's not going to be in the form of a weekly series. It just feels like I'd be tempting fate too much. (And by now you've obviously guessed that I'm a bit superstitious)

Oh and just so you know, I did learn from my mistake. I do not put the car seat bucket thing anywhere but on the floor and the car seat base.

McFatty Monday Week 15

Week 15 of HeirToBlair's McFatty Monday (they are on week 17)

Wow! What a difference a week makes! Especially when you actually stick to the plan you outlined for yourself. I'm down four, that's right, FOUR-freaking pounds this week. I drank my water, walked my dog, ate salads for lunch a few times and even once for dinner. I said no to the bagel my very kind, but very sabotaging co-worker bought me. And I lost 4 lbs. I even had a sugar-free jello pudding cup most nights for dessert and remembered to limit myself to one beer Saturday night.

The results: down 4 lbs and am now 4 lbs away from my birthday goal weight. I have 4 and 1/2 weeks to lose the 4 lbs. Totally doable!

Goals for the week: Same as last week since they worked so well. Walk the dog 5 times, drink 80oz of water a day and have salads for lunch.

Question of the week was around bathing suit plans for the summer. Last year I bought a suit I loved right before I got pregnant, because I couldn't fit into any of my old ones. Now that I'm down 14lbs pre-pregnancy weight, I'm thinking my old ones will fit, but they are bikinis. And while I think I'll be able to pull it off (well, as well as I've ever been able to pull it off - which was never great), I think it may be more practical to go with a tankini since I'll be sitting around in a splashy pool and not lying out anymore. So I think I'll be shopping...

Have a great week!

Baby Bath Time!

I don't know about the rest of you, but now that Fussy Gus can sit up by himself*, bath time has become much more fun with all the splashing and giggling that goes on. All we need now is some bath toys and a better mat for the bottom of the tub. I sense a shopping trip in my future!

Oh and how huge is that baby belly? I love it!

*We always keep a hand on him while he is in the tub to prevent him from falling.

McFatty Monday Week 14 :

Week 14 of HeirToBlair's McFatty Monday (they are on week 16)

So what I swore I wouldn't do on my McFatty journey, I've done. I've fallen into old habits. I've slowed down on drinking water, walking the dog frequently as fallen to the wayside, training for the 5K never even got started and my salads with grilled chicken for lunch are a distant memory. And yet I was still losing* which leads me to what I am most disappointed in myself for: I got within 5 lbs of my goal, was feeling good about myself, and I went into sabotage mode. Don't get me wrong, sabotage mode is delicious, but three Dairy Queen Blizzards in a week is ridiculous (in my defense, my husband bought me one as an olive branch when I was pissed at him so I felt obligated to eat it - ok that's a lie. I was giddy as a school girl when he walked through the door with it and I had to eat it) never mind the large bag of peanut M&Ms that bought on the 50% off post Easter candy sale.

So here I stand, 3 lbs heavier. 8 lbs away from my first goal which I had wanted to hit by April 25th and now I never will . So I'm starting over. Today. And I'm picking a new date for my goal. My Birthday -- May 28th. My (can't believe I'm going to type this) 35th birthday. I will lose 8 lbs in the next 5 1/2 weeks. It won't be easy, but I'm going to do it.

Goals for the week: Walk the dog 5 times, drink 80oz of water a day and have salads for lunch.

I think Blair's question of the week is about what you've learned and how will you make this loss long-term. I don't know if I've learned a lot, but at least I realized what I was doing sooner rather than later and that's something. As for long-term, I haven't thought that far ahead and that's a bad thing. I'm going to noodle on it a bit and get back to you.

Have a great week y'all! (yeah, I really can't pull "y'all" off)

*I credit this to breastfeeding. I've heard mixed things about how BF can help you lose the baby weight, but those 500 extra calories that you are burning really came in handy for me and is probably why I lost some weeks when I shouldn't have.

My Mommy & Me Experience

I'm not really a joiner. I have a lot of friendly acquaintances, but only a few very close friends. So when my two best friends, girls I have known for almost 30 years, started pressuring me to join a mommy and me class after the baby was born, I thought they were crazy. They know me. I don't do things like that. I like to stay in my safe little circle. But they were rather insistent. They told me that I would need to get out of the house after the baby was born and I needed to sign up. So against my better judgment, I signed up and when Fussy Gus was just shy of 3 weeks old we packed up and headed to class.

I didn't know what to expect - and I'm sure each class is a bit different depending on the group of moms that come together - but essentially we were all in the same boat. We went around the room that day introducing ourselves, our babies and we shared our birth stories and maybe something that we were struggling with. Introductions for the nine of us ended up taking the entire two hours of class. It was like we knew it was a safe haven to admit that we were overwhelmed and pretty everything was harder than we thought it would be.

Class ended and I started packing up all of our stuff. I don't know if I would say I loved the class, but I didn't hate it and would mostly likely come back the following week. And then it happened. The group leader thanked us all for coming and told us to go and have lunch together. Huh?!?! I just met these people. I don't want to have lunch with them! And it was time to feed Fussy Gus. I wasn't sure I was ready to breastfeed in public, never mind trying it in front of a bunch of strangers! But I could hear my two friends in the back of my head telling me to do just do it. So I did. Six classes and six lunches later, I was sad that the class was ending. (And did I mention that I'm pretty sure I ended up flashing everyone in the Mexican restaurant during that first lunch?)

Since most of us were still on maternity leave we started planning outings together. We did a cookie exchange at someone's house, a bunch of us plus babies went and got pedicures (us, not the babies!), we had pot luck lunches at houses. One by one we headed back to work and the play dates became less frequent and eventually stopped, until today (now yesterday because I didn't finish this post until today) that is. Seven of the nine of us (plus babies) were able to get together for lunch.

It was amazing to see not only how much the babies have changed, but also the mommies. Besides everyone being out of their maternity clothes, there was a confidence that none of us had back then. And while it had been a while since most of us had seen each other, it was like no time had past. We bonded as a group so much during those early weeks, it was like we were a bunch of old war buddies. Now don't get me wrong -- none of us are experts. We spent much of the lunch quizzing each other how much and how often each baby was eating, who was still breastfeeding, who was or wasn't sleeping through the night and sharing teething tips.

We had a great time at lunch and it was wonderful to see everyone. I hadn't realized how much I had missed them. I certainly never realized that when I walked into that class almost six months ago that I would make so many new friends. I guess I owe my two best friends a thank you - I may not have wanted to do it, but it was definitively worth it.

Oops! I'm being featured today! Crap! I need a witty post!

Hey there!

You may have wandered over here from the d-listed mom blogs. If you did, thank you! Unfortunately I never expected to be featured so quickly and therefore you are probably way under impressed with my last two posts where I complained about wearing oatmeal and the fact that we haven't started our taxes yet. Had I known you were coming I would have posted something much more engaging -- or at least I would have tried to!

I have a number of posts that planning in the next couple of weeks, but since you are probably a mom, I'll share a little of my birth story. Fussy Gus (not his name, but it's a nickname we gave him during one of his fussy periods) arrived via a planned c-section. And while it was planned, we didn't have a lot of advance notice. Most of the time between when we learned we were having the baby on Thursday and Thursday morning was spent getting things ready -- finishing up at work. bringing the dog to my parents, etc. I didn't get a chance to research c-sections -- All I really knew was what they told us in the 10 minute video showed during the childbirth prep class.

So here we are in the hospital that morning and it's time to get the show on the road. I was a bit surprised to learn that I would walk into the operating room. But I did and then I hopped up on the operating table. Have I mentioned that I have never spent a night in the hospital, had an operation or even an IV before? This is all new territory for me. My husband is waiting down the hall while they did the spinal block. The first attempt fails but luckily it works the second time. So now I'm lying on the table and can't feel anything. I'm looking around a bit, wondering when they'll get started and I smell something. What's that smell? Smells like something's burning? Oh wait! I think that's me! Apparently they had started and apparently I was being cauterized! Oh. My. God! And where is my husband?!?!

So I looked at the anesthesiologist and was about to say something, when I hear him say "Is anyone going to go get the husband?". What?!?! They forgot?!?! Was he going to miss it?!?! Luckily he arrived in plenty of time, but the poor bastard walked into the room and got a straight on view of all the glory that is my innards. And squimish does not even begin to describe my husband when it comes to blood and medical stuff. He was a trooper though (albeit a bit green in color) and it wasn't long before we heard the announcement that we had our beautiful son (we didn't know the gender ahead of time) and life hasn't been the same since.

The post was a bit rushed, but hopefully you'll stop by again sometime and hear about our life as parents while juggling work, a disobedient dog and a house which will always be under construction! And thanks to the d-listed Mom Blogs for featuring us. If you haven't already, check it out!

Have a great day!

Trials of a Working Mom...

Not sure how, but this morning when I got to work I noticed some type of gunk down the leg of my pants. Other than walking to the car and then into my building I didn't go anywhere and I didn't have anything to eat this morning. Upon closer inspection I realized it was oatmeal and while I didn't eat anything this morning, the little man did. And somehow he transferred it to my brand new work pants without getting a speck on himself. Fan-freaking-tastic! And so the day begins....

Oh and the taxes still haven't been started yet, but I was told not to worry about it. I'm smelling an extension in the air...

Can this week end soon? Please?

That time of year again...

It's slightly after 10pm on April 14th and Mr. Tall Guy has not started our taxes yet. I offered to do them, but he said no, he would take care of it. So I tried a different approach. I tried sell him on the idea of how cool it would be check off that we have a dependent this year for the first time. Lame I know. And he obviously didn't fall for it. So now I'm sitting here trying to wait trying to figure out how long I should wait until I mention it again.

I have a feeling that the next 24 hours at my house are going to be miserable.

McFatty Monday Week 12

Week 12 of HeirToBlair's McFatty Monday (they are on week 14)

Happy belated Easter! It was a great weekend here in New England after what seems like weeks of torrential rains. Seriously, I wouldn't have been surprised if I saw Wonder Mutt heading up a gangway with another Brittany in tow!

The weather was fantastic and we were able to take a long walk as a family and spend some time just playing in the grass with the little one. And with great weather weekends came some tasty beverages! My new favorite spring/summer drink is going to the Spiked Palmer -- an Arnold Palmer made with Firefly's Sweet Tea Vodka, but never fear, I am not abandoning my first love of ice cold beer. Beer and I spent a fair amount of time catching up together Thursday night after the babe went to bed and also during (gasp!) Easter dinner on Sunday. And the Palmer visited my house Friday evening. Now what does any of this have to do with McFatty Monday you may ask?

The Results: 0lbs. My goal for the week was 2lbs and I stayed exactly the same. Strangely I'm ok with this because I think it sets me up pretty for next week where I really will hit 2lbs down -- I'll just have to lay off the sauce to do it and work in a little bit more exercise.

Distance to Goal: 5lbs in the next 3 weeks to my 1st goal and still 11lbs off from wedding weight.

Question of the week was have you changed anything about your line of attack and the answer is no, but I would like to. I really would like to do Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem to help with the last 5/11lbs, but I'm still breastfeeding (just hit little man's six month birthday- WooHoo!) and you can't do either program while BFing. So until then I'm just going to have to try and be better about my choices and pick up the pace on exercising.

6 Months Old - Happy 1/2 Birthday!

My how things have changed in six months.

Six months ago today (26 weeks exactly) I left the house knowing that in just a few short hours I was going to be given the greatest gift I could imagine. I was going in for a scheduled c-section (a story for another day) and we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl. I would love to describe how I felt on the drive to the hospital but it's just a blurry jumble. There was anticipation, excitement, nervousness, being scared shitless... You name it and I think I felt it. And at 8:48 that morning I was blessed with a healthy 8lb 4oz baby boy (who remained nameless for the next 48 hours).



Fast forward six months and I'm amazed with everything about him. How he has changed and really become his own little person. And all that he has accomplished - it is truly amazing how much we accomplish during the first year of life. In the beginning it was all about getting him to breastfeed and boy what a struggle that was, but once that was worked out (five long weeks and a frenectomy later) he was off and running. His first real smile, his first belly laugh, reaching out to grasp objects, mastering head control, cooing, rolling from belly to back (which first happened away from me at daycare - so sad), the first time I saw him rolling from belly to back, sleeping through the night and now the latest of tasting food for the first time and starting to sit on his own... And through it all getting to see his personality start to form and shine -- it's just fantastic. Especially seeing traits that come from me, traits from his dad and traits that are all his own.

Oh Lord. I'm gushing. I'm really not the gushing type. And not all of it was rosy. Fussy Gus and I have had/have our moments, but I'm choosing to have selective memory when it comes to that. And then there are the times that no parent looks forward to. Times when your child is sick and nothing you do makes them feel better or when they have to get a shot at the doctor's. All and all it's been a wild ride and I have a feeling that the next 6 months will be just as crazy. I can't wait!

Happy 1/2 Birthday little man!