Hi, everyone!
Just wanted to take a moment to share our good news: we will be welcoming a new baby into our family in late June/early July. We're very excited and think that having less then 2 years between our kiddos will work out quite nicely.
You'll be hearing more about Baby 2.0 on three of my blogs.
~At Breakfast at Tiffany's, I'll be talking about time management and goal management and how those are impacted by a growing family.
~At How to Have a Baby, I'll be dishing the details of this particular pregnancy and some of the health bumps along the way.
~At Zero to Mom, I'll be talking about potty training, preparing for a new baby, preparing a toddler to be a big sister, and sibling rivalry.
Over the next few weeks, you'll also see some major revamping done on our food blog (Worth a Damn Recipes) and some major updates to my book blog (Read and Release). Major remodeling on my freelance and fiction writing web site is almost finished, as well.
So stay tuned with me for the next few months...it'll be a fun ride!
Hugs!
(cross-posted to B@T, HTHAB, and 0TM.)
Showing posts with label Babies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Babies. Show all posts
Baby 2.0
Hi, everyone!
Just wanted to take a moment to share our good news: we will be welcoming a new baby into our family in late June/early July. We're very excited and think that having less then 2 years between our kiddos will work out quite nicely.
You'll be hearing more about Baby 2.0 on three of my blogs.
~At Breakfast at Tiffany's, I'll be talking about time management and goal management and how those are impacted by a growing family.
~At How to Have a Baby, I'll be dishing the details of this particular pregnancy and some of the health bumps along the way.
~At Zero to Mom, I'll be talking about potty training, preparing for a new baby, preparing a toddler to be a big sister, and sibling rivalry.
Over the next few weeks, you'll also see some major revamping done on our food blog (Worth a Damn Recipes) and some major updates to my book blog (Read and Release). Major remodeling on my freelance and fiction writing web site is almost finished, as well.
So stay tuned with me for the next few months...it'll be a fun ride!
Hugs!
(cross-posted to B@T, HTHAB, and 0TM.)
Toddler Self-Mutilation
Here's a problem I never thought I'd be exploring as the mom of a young toddler: self-mutilation!
And I'm hoping I'm not the only mommy who is/has dealt with this!
Picture the scene: a happy little girl is playing on the floor with her favorite toy...when she suddenly lifts it off the floor and starts banging it against her head. Next clip, a cranky little girl is sitting in a room and starts banging her head against the wall or the floor out of either anger or frustration.
What. The. Heck!?
To be honest, the concept of a baby hurting themselves purposefully is just more than my mind can fathom.
After consulting Dr. Google, I'm seeing information about rhythmic banging, or banging against something relatively harmless like crib rails.
So I'll put it out to you, readers. Have you experienced this? Have any explanations, or, better yet, solutions???
I can't wait to hear your ideas!
And I'm hoping I'm not the only mommy who is/has dealt with this!
Picture the scene: a happy little girl is playing on the floor with her favorite toy...when she suddenly lifts it off the floor and starts banging it against her head. Next clip, a cranky little girl is sitting in a room and starts banging her head against the wall or the floor out of either anger or frustration.
What. The. Heck!?
To be honest, the concept of a baby hurting themselves purposefully is just more than my mind can fathom.
After consulting Dr. Google, I'm seeing information about rhythmic banging, or banging against something relatively harmless like crib rails.
So I'll put it out to you, readers. Have you experienced this? Have any explanations, or, better yet, solutions???
I can't wait to hear your ideas!
Mama, Dada
Spoiled Baby is doing great with picking up new syllables and is even doing well at associating those sounds with people and objects.
Dada is uttered a lot...baby girl just loves her daddy to pieces.
And the good news is that she's now saying "mama" a lot, as well. The bad news end of that? She says "dada" when she's happy, "mama" when she's whiny.
How the heck did that association happen?
Dada is uttered a lot...baby girl just loves her daddy to pieces.
And the good news is that she's now saying "mama" a lot, as well. The bad news end of that? She says "dada" when she's happy, "mama" when she's whiny.
How the heck did that association happen?
Random Crying
Do any of you have kiddos that just randomly cry when you leave the room? For about the past month or so, Spoiled Baby, even if she's happy as a clam when we're in the room with her, turns into a whiny, spoiled baby whenever we walk out the door. It used to be great to plop her in her room to play with her toys so we could get stuff done around the house. Now, her crying provides the soundtrack to our chores.
What the heck!?!?
What the heck!?!?
Carousel of Absurdity
Pardon the following flight into melodrama. Four years ago today, my husband and I got engaged. A year ago today, my dad passed away. Today, I got an even better look at the hypocrisy and ineptitude present in the leadership of my husband's employer than even the past month has provided. I'm a little overwhelmed right now.
I sometimes think my life is a never-ending carousel of absurdity. The baby, having just gotten over a major sickness, just slipped while trying to pull herself up against the coffee table. She lacerated her tongue fairly deeply and a half hour later, is still spitting out a fair amount of blood.
I'm debating whether to take her to the doctor or simply allege police brutality, since the media and activists have labored so intensely to teach us over the past month that a person could never, ever injure herself by falling on her own face.
Earlier today, when I called to discuss the weight the baby lost while sick, the nurse advised me to feed the heck out of her for the next few weeks so she can gain back the weight she lost while dealing with her nasty intestinal virus. I'm sure that'll be *real* easy with a split tongue. *headdesk* Oh, wait. That could cause a head injury. Have I come full circle yet?
Anyone know how to book a plane ticket to the Bermuda Triangle?
**And yes, there are still posts in queue that I have to get up from my cell phone posting debacle. Coming soon. Promise. Someday. In the future. While I'm sipping mai tais in the aforementioned desirable vacation destination.**
I sometimes think my life is a never-ending carousel of absurdity. The baby, having just gotten over a major sickness, just slipped while trying to pull herself up against the coffee table. She lacerated her tongue fairly deeply and a half hour later, is still spitting out a fair amount of blood.
I'm debating whether to take her to the doctor or simply allege police brutality, since the media and activists have labored so intensely to teach us over the past month that a person could never, ever injure herself by falling on her own face.
Earlier today, when I called to discuss the weight the baby lost while sick, the nurse advised me to feed the heck out of her for the next few weeks so she can gain back the weight she lost while dealing with her nasty intestinal virus. I'm sure that'll be *real* easy with a split tongue. *headdesk* Oh, wait. That could cause a head injury. Have I come full circle yet?
Anyone know how to book a plane ticket to the Bermuda Triangle?
**And yes, there are still posts in queue that I have to get up from my cell phone posting debacle. Coming soon. Promise. Someday. In the future. While I'm sipping mai tais in the aforementioned desirable vacation destination.**
Fitting Everything In
in:
Babies
,
Freelancing
,
Time to Write
,
Work
Hi, everyone!
I've been struggling to carve time out of my schedule to actually get writing done post-baby. Not just fiction, which I've always struggled to find time for, but also the freelancing that used to add significantly to my household income.
So I thought I'd open up the blog to elicit reader responses - what do YOU do to schedule yourself time to write? What all do you balance writing against? Do you have any tips or tricks to get quality writing done?
Here's a look at what I'm trying to balance right now:
Here's what's fallen by the wayside:
Your turn, readers! What are you juggling right now? What are your magical tips for making it all fit together? What have you gotten away from doing but really miss??
I've been struggling to carve time out of my schedule to actually get writing done post-baby. Not just fiction, which I've always struggled to find time for, but also the freelancing that used to add significantly to my household income.
So I thought I'd open up the blog to elicit reader responses - what do YOU do to schedule yourself time to write? What all do you balance writing against? Do you have any tips or tricks to get quality writing done?
Here's a look at what I'm trying to balance right now:
- Baby - a full time job in and of itself, especially since the hubby works a shift opposite of mine, so when I'm home with baby, I'm home alone with baby.
- Working - full time, outside of the home, including occasional travel.
- Household schtuff - I'm bound and determined not to use having a baby as an excuse to have a messy home. It's way harder now, but I'm sticking with it as best I can.
- Toastmasters - I'm the club secretary this year, and am also competing in Table Topics and the International Speech Contest. Just won 1st place in my area for both and go on to the divisional competition at the end of March.
Here's what's fallen by the wayside:
- Freelance writing - I started back 10 days postpartum, which was a huge mistake. I pulled back after 4 weeks of trying to keep up with client contracts and in the last 4 months have only written sporadically at best.
- Fictional writing - The goal was to add 10k a month in 2009 to one of my WIPs - The Mommy Letters, which I started writing way back in November 2006. So far this year? Have added a grand total of 3k. Ick.
- Judging Speech and Debate - I just want to get the baby a little bit older before I start leaving her elsewhere - with friends or family - for a full day so I can take on a tournament. Plus, the Friday night portions go late and I just don't feel I should be away from her at bedtime yet. Was hoping to do a Saturday-only in February but it fell through. I'm afraid that the school districts I contract with are going to stop inviting me if I don't jump in again fairly soon, although I've told some that I probably won't start again until the '09/'10 school year.
- Pampered Chef - Haven't held a show in a year. A year! Promised clients a catalog show in late 2008 but was too overwhelmed with other stuff to get it off the ground. Mea culpa! Planning a "Hey, it's Spring!" show for later this month and hope I actually pull it off.
- Choir/Orchestra - I haven't been active in the choir or orchestra at my church in a looooong time now and to be honest, of all the things that have gone by the wayside, that's what distresses me most. But Wednesday night practices when the baby isn't yet old enough for the church-sponsored babysitter just ain't gonna happen, since hubby is, of course, at work.
- Leadership Development Training - I haven't taught for my volunteer organization in almost a year and a half - and I'll stop being "certified" to teach my courses at the two year mark if I haven't taught them in that time. ACK! Trying to figure this piece out.
Your turn, readers! What are you juggling right now? What are your magical tips for making it all fit together? What have you gotten away from doing but really miss??
Update on Chris
Subtitle: How Mother Nature Trumped Mother Tiffany
Sub-sub Title: Why I Hate Hurricane Ike
I let you all know in my "Updates, Updates" post that Chris was being deployed as a part of a state police contingent here in Texas to aid in enforcement efforts down in Galveston, so I just thought I'd provide a little update on how that's going.
Chris arrived there Thursday afternoon and got his gear stowed and settled in. He began work at 5 AM on Friday morning and spent his first 12 hour shift accompanying convoys and then driving around Galveston Island. Today's 12 hour shift was spent at a roadblock...apparently, despite sunscreen, he's burned.
We were hopeful that because the baby has sped up our timetable, he'd be able to head home a bit earlier than the deployment schedule calls for, so that he can be here if something happens. To summarize my update over at How to Have a Baby, my doctor has set the goal of keeping Baby Girl inside until September 27th. (Head over there for details...no need to rehash here.) But Chris isn't scheduled to leave south Texas until the morning of September 29th. Hmm...
Another agent volunteered to take his place. So I was even more hopeful. I'm very capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much, but I'd definitely feel a little more calm if Chris were here instead of there. But...it's not going to happen.
Governor Perry has requested an additional 600 state police officers to help out in both Houston and Galveston. Only 6 agents from the Dallas and Fort Worth districts of Chris' agency originally went last week. ALL of the remaining agents from both districts will now be heading down there on Monday. Ergo, no one to swap out with Chris. Ergo, he stays.
If I go into labor between now and the 29th, they allow him to come home at that time. If it's during the day, he can get over to Houston Hobby airport and I can get him on a plane up here - 45 minute ride and since I work for AA, it won't be any big deal to get him a seat. We run planes out of Hobby constantly from about 6 AM until about 8 PM. If it's during the night...well...it's a long drive up from Galveston. Even with lights and sirens. I've threatened the baby with duct tape.
So I'm coming to you again to ask for a few prayers. We need for this little girl to stay put until her daddy can come home. I'm trying to do my part by following my doctor's orders as best I can to restrict movement. But I have to tell you that I'm feeling a bit frantic. My intuition is that she's not going to follow orders that nicely...and that it'll become a matter of her racing her dad. In fact, I'm firmly convinced of this. And unfortunately, my intuition is typically dead on. Ask my friends about the times that I get up to go answer the phone before it even rings...
So in any case, that's our update. Hope ya'll are having a good weekend! I'm still trying to figure out how to dial back and do this whole relaxation thing.
Sub-sub Title: Why I Hate Hurricane Ike
I let you all know in my "Updates, Updates" post that Chris was being deployed as a part of a state police contingent here in Texas to aid in enforcement efforts down in Galveston, so I just thought I'd provide a little update on how that's going.
Chris arrived there Thursday afternoon and got his gear stowed and settled in. He began work at 5 AM on Friday morning and spent his first 12 hour shift accompanying convoys and then driving around Galveston Island. Today's 12 hour shift was spent at a roadblock...apparently, despite sunscreen, he's burned.
We were hopeful that because the baby has sped up our timetable, he'd be able to head home a bit earlier than the deployment schedule calls for, so that he can be here if something happens. To summarize my update over at How to Have a Baby, my doctor has set the goal of keeping Baby Girl inside until September 27th. (Head over there for details...no need to rehash here.) But Chris isn't scheduled to leave south Texas until the morning of September 29th. Hmm...
Another agent volunteered to take his place. So I was even more hopeful. I'm very capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much, but I'd definitely feel a little more calm if Chris were here instead of there. But...it's not going to happen.
Governor Perry has requested an additional 600 state police officers to help out in both Houston and Galveston. Only 6 agents from the Dallas and Fort Worth districts of Chris' agency originally went last week. ALL of the remaining agents from both districts will now be heading down there on Monday. Ergo, no one to swap out with Chris. Ergo, he stays.
If I go into labor between now and the 29th, they allow him to come home at that time. If it's during the day, he can get over to Houston Hobby airport and I can get him on a plane up here - 45 minute ride and since I work for AA, it won't be any big deal to get him a seat. We run planes out of Hobby constantly from about 6 AM until about 8 PM. If it's during the night...well...it's a long drive up from Galveston. Even with lights and sirens. I've threatened the baby with duct tape.
So I'm coming to you again to ask for a few prayers. We need for this little girl to stay put until her daddy can come home. I'm trying to do my part by following my doctor's orders as best I can to restrict movement. But I have to tell you that I'm feeling a bit frantic. My intuition is that she's not going to follow orders that nicely...and that it'll become a matter of her racing her dad. In fact, I'm firmly convinced of this. And unfortunately, my intuition is typically dead on. Ask my friends about the times that I get up to go answer the phone before it even rings...
So in any case, that's our update. Hope ya'll are having a good weekend! I'm still trying to figure out how to dial back and do this whole relaxation thing.
Baby's First Halloween Costume
Believe it or not, we've already been discussing how we should dress up Catherine for her first Halloween this year. Come Halloween, she'll be between two and four weeks old - not old enough to trick-or-treat, but definitely old enough that we have to find something super cute to put her in!
Baby has had several nicknames so far, including Bunny, Alien, Skeletor and Monkey. Any of those could potentially turn into Halloween Costumes...although Chris doesn't like the last three since he thinks we're picking on her to call her names. He especially hate when I call her Skeletor, but in her earlier ultrasounds, that's really what she looked like!
I've been trolling the internet for ideas, and found a few that I like on the incostume.com web site - take a look (especially if you're looking for costumes for your own little ones) and come back to let me know which you like best!
Aren't they just so stinkin' cute?
Baby has had several nicknames so far, including Bunny, Alien, Skeletor and Monkey. Any of those could potentially turn into Halloween Costumes...although Chris doesn't like the last three since he thinks we're picking on her to call her names. He especially hate when I call her Skeletor, but in her earlier ultrasounds, that's really what she looked like!
I've been trolling the internet for ideas, and found a few that I like on the incostume.com web site - take a look (especially if you're looking for costumes for your own little ones) and come back to let me know which you like best!
Aren't they just so stinkin' cute?
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
in:
Babies
,
Blog Announcement
,
Life
Good Monday Afternoon, everyone!
As looooooooooooong promised, Breakfast at Tiffany's has a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
I think I've been hinting around at this BIG ANNOUNCEMENT for over a month now.
I've known about it for far longer than that.
So if I haven't totally driven you crazy yet...HERE GOES:
My husband, Chris, and I are very pleased to announce that we are expecting an addition to our family!
A little girl, to be named Catherine Elizabeth, is due on or around October 25th, 2008.
Our first child, we're crazy-mad in love with her already! She is, of course, the best little baby ever conceived and we can't wait until she gets here this fall.
For the past year, I have maintained another blog dedicated to the not-always-easy journey of having a baby. Called, simply, How to Have a Baby, it chronicles our two-plus year journey from when we got married until today. Because of the sensitive nature of the blog's topic, I have maintained it semi-anonymously, referring to myself only as "Future Mommy". I finally told the (mostly-female) readers of that blog my first name only a couple months ago.
If you are interested, please go visit. Be warned, however, that there is very frank language used there - there is also a disclaimer on that page. More recent posts - those from mid-February to-date - are not quite as sensitive and focus more on the baby that is to be. If you dig in the archives, be warned that I've lost all semblance of shame - so if you don't want to know personal details, simply don't read!
I've added a feed to the right side of this blog and you'll be able to see (and visit, if you so wish) the latest postings as they come out.
Yay for Baby!
As looooooooooooong promised, Breakfast at Tiffany's has a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
I think I've been hinting around at this BIG ANNOUNCEMENT for over a month now.
I've known about it for far longer than that.
So if I haven't totally driven you crazy yet...HERE GOES:
My husband, Chris, and I are very pleased to announce that we are expecting an addition to our family!
A little girl, to be named Catherine Elizabeth, is due on or around October 25th, 2008.
Our first child, we're crazy-mad in love with her already! She is, of course, the best little baby ever conceived and we can't wait until she gets here this fall.
For the past year, I have maintained another blog dedicated to the not-always-easy journey of having a baby. Called, simply, How to Have a Baby, it chronicles our two-plus year journey from when we got married until today. Because of the sensitive nature of the blog's topic, I have maintained it semi-anonymously, referring to myself only as "Future Mommy". I finally told the (mostly-female) readers of that blog my first name only a couple months ago.
If you are interested, please go visit. Be warned, however, that there is very frank language used there - there is also a disclaimer on that page. More recent posts - those from mid-February to-date - are not quite as sensitive and focus more on the baby that is to be. If you dig in the archives, be warned that I've lost all semblance of shame - so if you don't want to know personal details, simply don't read!
I've added a feed to the right side of this blog and you'll be able to see (and visit, if you so wish) the latest postings as they come out.
Yay for Baby!
