Decisions...Decisions (Vote time)

Back to Blonde for Summer or stay with my all-year red?

Happiness Question

I am a firm believer in making your own happiness. In college, I decided I was not going to be this scared little mouse, I was going to go out and get what I want to make me happy. Since then, I consider myself to be fairly assertive and even aggressive.

So what happens when the one thing you want, is the one thing you are too scared to go out and grasp. Even when it is staring you in the face?

Out for a Stroll

This is your brain on film..or How not to spend a Friday

Yes, this is my brain on film, errr I mean CD (we are in the 21st century after all). Spent last Friday getting pictures taken of my brain. Don't worry I'm fine, just a follow-up to some things from last year. To be honest the MRI was quite relaxing... I must be a new mom is I can fall asleep in the MRI machine.

Better Late Than Never...or 2011 New Year's Resolutions

Resolutions are always a challenge for me. I seem to make them and I am not always good about completing them. I know last year was a bad example, I mean I had a great plan, but my son siderailed that (not that I am complaining!). So this year, as my priorities have shifted, the list is shorter but more meaningful. You'll notice there aren't any specifics really, just some new principals or priorites to live by.

Here's to 2011 being the best year yet.

Cherish family and friends
Be thankful for each day of good health
Take Care of myself, so I can be the best mom I can be
Live life (don’t let it happen)
Appreciate the small things
Help the less fortunate whenever we can

Babies Are Rock Stars...or Close Encounters of the "Stranger" Kind

I continue to hold my theory that Babies are rock stars. People love them. My hubs loves the attention our son gets, constantly commenting on how wonderful our little man is. So here are some tidbits of encounters with Strangers we have had while out and about town.

In Church... Baby Boy in the Baby Bjorn napping on my chest, as we exit our pew at the conclusion of Mass, a woman stops me by putting her hand on my arm. She says "Oh he is just presious! Your first?" Me: "Yup." Lady:" You must be enjoying it, you haven't stopped smiling."

At the Grocery Store... Before shopping we realize Baby Boy needs to be changed, so instead of putting him in the Baby Bjorn, Hubs carrys him in wrapping his coat around the little guy so just Baby Boy's head is popping out. From the other side of the giant oranges display a little old lady says, "Oh my gosh... a baby!!" Hubs and I smile and nod, and keep walking toward the bathroom. Little old lady says, "Oh please can I see him?". Of course you can ma'am, and we stop to let her tell him how adorable he is.

At the Grocery Store... in line to check out. Baby in the Baby Bjorn babbling away. A man behinds me leans over and starts babbling back.

In line at Target....Hubs has Baby Boy in the Baby Bjorn, a woman leans over and says, "Oh he is so adorable, enjoy it! I wish I could tell you it gets better than this, but now my 5 year-old talks back."

In a deptarment store... we are visiting a friend who runs a makeup counter. She is holding Baby Boy behind the counter, a woman leans in and says, "Oh he is so cute. How much is he?"

In the LL Bean store... Grandma is holding Baby Boy while I check out. An elderly man comes over first to ask my mom how old her son is (go Hot Grandma!), and then to comment on how alert Baby Boy is for being under 3 months old. He says, "He's so curious...this one is gonna be trouble!"

Coming out of the restroom at a Restaurant... a couple leans in to say how cute Baby Boy is and ask hold old he is. The encounter ends with them saying, "Oh God Bless him!!"

Babies Are Rock Stars... or tidbits from the first 10 weeks of parenthood **WARNING contains lots of pictures**

* Babies are rock stars... or so I have learned as every where I go, everyone ooo's and ahhh's. How could they not with a face like this:




* My vocabulary has changed...all words now have an "ie" or a "y" on the end. For example, a sentence: "Ok baby boy, Mommy is going to change your diapie, then you get some milkie, and then you can give Mommy a big burpy".

* I fall in love a little more each day, and live for the moments like these:




* It is amazing what you can learn to do with one hand.

* I have lost almost all my brain cells. In the first three weeks, I got into the shower with my glasses on unknowingly 8 times, and got frustrated when they fogged up.

* Sleep is the world's most undervalued commodity.





* It is important to have a support system of people who understand exactly what you are going through.


* My breast pump makes me feel like I should be working on a dairy farm...as a cow.

* I am petrified of flat head syndrome...so I choose to "wear my baby".



*The swing, although a God-send, makes me feel like a bad mom.

* Always be prepared for the unexpected. Pack extra bottles, changes of clothes and the like. You never know what the day might bring.

* I have to be flexible.

* Sometimes being serious is ok.



* Treasure every minute, cause it goes way too fast.

in another "REALY?!?!?!?!" moment...

I saw these while Christmas shopping...



Really? I guess someone buys them or else they wouldn't be on sale.

A Facelift...

I usually leave my changes to the blog title and design for early January.. but I didn't want to wait.. so take a look, and let me know what you think of the new title and header image. More posts coming soon....

Whoever thought I would become obsessed with poop?

Whoever thought I would become obsessed with poop? That is the question I asked myself, as for five days we waited for our newborn to poop.

On October 17th, we welcomed our son into the world. Labor was the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life.



And of course, because we are ridiculously controlling personalities we took to the breast feeding guide that told us how many wet and stool diapers he should be having on a daily basis like it was the bible....and then we waited. And we waited, for this little angel to finally poop.


Whoever thought that I would be on the "Great Poop Watch", but there I was checking every diaper, listening for every passing of gas, and praying our little man would finally poop and that this wasn't a sign of a greater problem. The pediatrician, of course, was not worried "A few more days, sometimes it just takes longer" he would say.

Of course, the entire family (including the extended aunts and uncles) were also on high alert. I can't tell you how many text messages I got asking if the baby had pooped yet. And when he finally did, the giant massive explosion...and I texted everyone that he had finally pooped, there was great rejoicing! Which just cracked me up considering just a few days before all I was concerned about was actually "having the baby". Funny how life changes so drastically, and the shift of what is important and what takes over your life happens so fast. And yet, even with the "Great Poop Watch" over and just a memory, I wouldn't have traded a second of it. Why? because I get to be this little man's mom, and that makes everything worth it.





P.S. - pardon the poor grammar. I am a sleep-deprived, new mom.

Baby's Room Subway Art

so I got inspired by my friend Connie, over at The Young and The Relentless, who created subway art for her kitchen.

As it turns out, she was inspired by Tatertots and Jello.

Here is my Subway Art... themed for the baby's room and ready to hang on the wall.



What do you think?

Really?!?!?!

I saw these in my local Target in the little girl's section. No... not the Halloween section, the regular clothing section.


do mom's really buy these for their little girls and let them out of the house? I am seriously in complete shock over this.

I need to come up with....

a new blog name. I don't want it to be focused on the whole list of to do's anymore, although I plan to keep the list of things I want to do. I do want to capture the idea and spirit of living life to the fullest...any ideas?

It sounded really great....

"I can't drive anymore", I told my doctor this morning, thinking about how my baby bump is touching my steering wheel these days, as I enter into the final 4 weeks of pregnancy. In the back of my head, all I can think is, "This is great.. doctor's note, and no more commute to Hartford".

As I leave the doctor's office, note in hand, I realize, "Ah dang it... this says "NO DRIVING", as in none at all, as in can't take myself to Target or wherever I need to go."

Well, it sounded like a good idea.

I told you....

my beef steak tomato plant is taller than I am. ;)

An Update

I have to admit, that I am not feeling very productive this year. I set out 32 things I wanted to do, and I really have only accomplished a few of them. Considering that I got pregnant only a few weeks after my birthday, and the start of my list.. I guess I made some progress. I have updated the list on the side in case anyone wants to take a status peek.

According to the little widget I have that is the baby countdown, I am due in 50 days. That is very scary... and I am sure it is going to go like a flash. Don't get me wrong, I am super excited to meet my little man, but the changes that are about to take place are a little nerve racking.

But now that I am in the final stretch, I have a new set of goals and things I want to accomplish (don't worry it's a short list):

1. Live in the moment (and cherish every second with just my hubs before our lives radically change!)
2. Finish getting the baby's room ready
3. make and freeze some dinners, so the hubs has something to eat after this little guy is born.

And so for those of you keeping score at home, here I am at 33 weeks:


And here is my little hellion, giving me the finger at our last ultra-sound:


And here is an attempt to capture his face... including the bubble he was blowing at the time:

Sundays of Grace

Every week I feel like a broken record... thankful for something related to my family or friends... but really these are the joys and most important things in my life.

But sometimes it's the small things, like being thankful for my hubs who fixed the toilet when the handle broke today, or being thankful for the fact that I have a hubs who helped me sort through 3 giant boxes of hand me down baby clothes, or being thankful for the fact that my almost 3 week old niece, slept through church today so her mom didn't have to jump up and run out.

And how about just being thankful for surviving another week?

I guess it is just the little things, and I am thankful that I have been blessed enough to know these are blessings!

At a bbq....

I saw this...


Since it was also a pool party, I think I eventually determined this was a pair of board shorts, but seriously.... who let this guy out of the house like this?

Sundays of Grace

This weekend, I was working through a piles of unmarked CD-Rs, and I came across a movie I had put together for my Hubs one Valentine's day many years ago. It was called "The Story of Us (the beginning chapters)" and included lots of pictures of us growing up.

I must admit every time I saw The Hubs as a little boy, I almost burst into tears with joy at the thought that that is what my little man could look like.

I can't even believe there are less than 60 days until his due date. It is truly a miracle, and I am truly blessed that so far so good. Based on our last ultrasound he is healthy, growing well, and positioned perfectly.

I am so thankful for the out-pouring of prayers and support I have received so far.

Thank you to one and all.

Sundays of Grace

This week I am thankful for my new niece. And most importantly that both mom and baby are healthy!