Gerry: 11 Months Old

I can't believe that in one month...one month...Gerry is going to be a year old.  He's looking less and less like a baby and more and more like a little boy (to me, at least) and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

He's still the happiest little guy I know, and he just loves to get into mischief these days.  Now that he's able to crawl, cruise along furniture, and climb stairs (eek!) he is all over the place.  He's actually really good at getting up the stairs, and he can climb a full flight with no problem.  Coming back down, though, is another story.  He pretty much just sits down, which results in him tumbling backward literally ass-over-elbows every time.  But it never stops him from climbing back up again!

This is the face of a little boy who knows he's been busted

Bailey is still his very favorite person ever.  His face just lights up when he sees her, and she loves him just as much.  He's constantly crawling over to play with her when she's on the floor, laying his head on her shoulder, and grabbing her for his version of a kiss.  I say it all the time, but I adore how much they love each other.  Can't get enough of it.

Gerry is eating like a champ these days, and we've pretty much finished with purees.  Now he eats what we eat, just cut up into tiny pieces.  His favorites, like Bailey's, are veggies -- green beans, peas and carrots.  He doesn't turn anything down and eating is pretty much one of his favorite things ever.

As far as talking goes, he's still mostly babbling.  We get "Mama" and "Dada" and every once in awhile I swear he says "Hi."  Otherwise, it's just lots of noise and giggles.  Speaking of noise...he thinks it's the awesomest thing ever.  He gets the biggest kick out of shaking rattles, banging on pots, and knocking things together to make noise.  The louder the better!

He's become more affectionate the last few weeks and I can't get enough of it.  He's never been a snuggly baby, always preferring to move around and to watch the things going on around him.  He's still like that, but now he looks for me and reaches for me often.  When he gets hurt or sad or angry, he immediately starts crawling to me and wraps his arms around my neck when I pick him up.  On Thanksgiving, we were surrounded by A LOT of people.  Gerry got a little overwhelmed and started to cry and try to wriggle out of Scott's arms and into mine...I've got to say, it made me feel good! 

In another few weeks we'll be celebrating his first birthday.  Where did the time go?! 

My Favorite Little Lady

It occurred to me last night that I'm always writing monthly updates on Gerry, but I never do one for Bailey.  Now that she's 3 and not necessarily doing something "new" every month I don't always have new things to write about, but I wanted to take a minute and do a little Bailey update now.  Because she is, in a word, incredible.

She's 3 years and 5 months old now, and smarter than I ever could have imagined.  She loves to draw and, in the last few months, has really started drawing some great stuff.  Mostly people, but she's giving them faces and feet and you can actually tell that they're people and not just scribbles on a page.  I've never shown her how to draw a person, so I can't take credit for her newest artistic ability, but I'm pretty impressed with how well she's coming along.

Our family portrait

Her favorite foods right now are corn and broccoli.  I know...vegetables?  At 3, I think I was horrified at the prospect of having to look at a piece of broccoli let alone eat it, but she loves it and will happily subsist on nothing but veggies.  Don't get me wrong, she loves her sweets, too.  The girl can pound a bag of m&ms like nobody's business.  But when given the choice, she chooses corn and broccoli 9 times out of 10.  Just like me, though, she's not a fan of milk unless it's in cereal.  And don't even think about offering her a sandwich.  That's like a slap in the face to her taste buds and she will shoot you down every time.

I don't know how this happened, but Bailey is turning into a girly-girl.  Her favorite color is pink, she's obsessed with princesses, and she thinks a pair of "fancy shoes" and a tiara complete any outfit.  She's obsessed with lip gloss and LOVES to paint her nails and wear jewelry.  The other day she told me she wanted to go to a fancy dinner.  Then she looked me up and down and said, "But you have to fix your hair, mom.  And blow dry it.  Then we can go to a fancy dinner."

Her very first dance recital...just shy of 3 years old.

Tiara, pajamas, and high heels

She's got very strong opinions and knows exactly what she wants.  I admire that about her, even though it can drive me crazy sometimes.  If she wants to wear pajamas to the mall there's no changing her mind.  If she decides she wants to be a princess there's no convincing her otherwise.  If she feels she's been wronged she's not afraid to let you know it.

But she's also got this sweet, affectionate side to her that I absolutely adore.  Often, she'll stop what she's doing to come over and lay her head in my lap and say, "I love you, mama".  (When she's feeling super affectionate she calls me Mama.  When she's feeling sassy it's Mom)  She says please and thank you without needing prompting most of the time, and she always says things like, "You're the best mom ever!"  When we're apart (which isn't very often), even if it's only been for a half hour, she exclaims "Mommy!  I missed you!"  When Scott comes home from work at the end of the day, she's quick to give him a hug and yell, "Daddy!  My daddy's home!"  She calls Gerry "Handsome Man" and hugs him ALL THE TIME.

A few months ago, I had back surgery and was stuck in bed for a few days.  She climbed up in bed with me that first day and didn't leave my side except to go to the bathroom and to eat.  I was on painkillers and kind of fuzzy for awhile, but I distinctly remember rolling over to find her there with me many different times.  She was perfectly content just sitting there with me and watching tv.  

The other day, I was putting her to bed and I noticed that she had a picture of my grandfather (who is still living) propped up against the jewelry box on her nightstand.  I asked her if daddy had put it there and she said, "No, I did.  I just love Pop Pop and I miss him every day."  A week later, the picture is still there and she adjusts it every night before going to bed.

She has the most fantastic imagination, I swear.  Whether she's playing with her babies or her dollhouse, or building something with tools, she's always got some story about what she's doing and why.  This morning I found her banging on the pantry door with a toy hammer.  "I'm just hitting the door, Mom.  My baby needs a tunnel so I'm making one for her 'cause she's my sweetie."  Last night she was playing with her dollhouse dolls and had two of them engaged in some deep conversation about who was going to sleep in which bed and why.  Complete with tears and everything.

As grown up as she likes to think she is, though, she's still got some "baby" qualities when it comes to her speech.  For instance, she still calls bananas " 'nanas", the computer is her " 'pooter", and she sometimes still adds an extra "s" to plural words ("I'm going to read all these bookses!")  Most of the time she substitutes the y-sound for l-sounds at the beginning of words ("I yuv cookies!").  I don't often correct her because I know that she's going to grow out of it soon and will start saying words correctly.  And I'm so going to miss her "baby speech".  So much.  The day she stopped calling her blanket a "bubby" I was sad and refused to call it by it's proper name until I realized how ridiculous I was being.

My absolute favorite thing about Bailey right now is the way she interacts with her brother.  She is an amazing big sister and Gerry is so lucky to have her.  She's got a never-ending supply of patience, kindness and love when it comes to him and he is the ONLY person that she never gets angry or frustrated with.  She gets excited when he does something new, and her face just glows with pride for him.  Whenever we're out and someone says hello to them she'll tell them, "This is my brother.  He's a baby.  His name's Gerry".  She protects him and she plays with him and she loves him like I never could have imagined.  I don't know why I was so worried about how she'd take it having a sibling.  She's completely awesome.

That's not to say that she doesn't have her moments where she's in full-on tantrum mode and it takes everything in me not to throttle her.  Because it happens.  Not too often, but it happens.  But then she goes and does something so incredibly sweet that it just wipes the slate clean.

I'm lucky that she's my daughter and I love her to the moon and back.  She's sweet and feisty and hilarious and smart and adorable and mine.  I don't know what I did to deserve her, but I'm thankful every single day that she calls me mommy.  I'm proud of her, and I know that she is destined to do some big things when she grows up.  For now, though, I want to keep her "my little girl" for as long as I can.

Gerry: 10 Months Old

Gerry was 10 months old yesterday...and what a 10 months it's been!  He's still happy as ever, but his sleep is a bit off these days.  Scott and I are assuming it's teething, and hoping it doesn't last much longer.  He's been waking up once or twice each night and then pretty early in the morning (for the day).  Still better than Bailey was at this point, though, so who are we to complain?

His newest skill is being able to go from a lying down position to sitting up all by himself.  He's been doing it for a couple of weeks now, and I think he's enjoying the independence.  Still no crawling on all-fours yet, but he gets around just fine by "army crawling" wherever he wants to go.  So now he's pretty much into everything and all over the place.  And he's FAST! He's attempting to pull himself up, but kind of gives up once he gets to his knees.  And he can stand for long periods of time while holding onto the couch...but then he just kind of lets himself crumple in a heap off to the side rather than sitting down.

Gerry is still a great eater, although he's been turning away his bottle lately unless he's tired and ready to go to sleep.  Still not getting much action with a sippy cup, but he does enjoy throwing it on the floor...over and over again.  Which reminds me...his favorite thing to do these days is to make noise.  As much noise as he can possibly make, and however he can possibly make it.  He screams, he babbles, he bangs toys together...the noisier it is for him, the better.  Bailey is still one of his favorite people ever, and I love the giant smile he gets on his face when he sees her. 

Right now, he's doing his evil little giggle/laugh that he does and I'm DYING to get it on camera so I can share it with all of you.  But I'm always too busy laughing when he does it to film him!  One day, I'll get it.

He's got his moments, but G is still one of the happiest, smiliest, best babies I've ever come across.  And, yes, I know that I'm ridiculously biased.

Flame-Free Friday!

*sigh*  Yesterday was Halloween and I'm exhausted!  Bailey was so keyed up that she didn't get to bed until super late (what else is new?) and Gerry has been going through some sleep regression, so he was up about 3 times.  I need sleep!  So I'm just going to jump right into my "confessions"...after these pictures from last night's Halloween festivities.

Superman

Wonder Woman

******************************************************************

Okay.  Moving on.  I confess...

...that I exacted revenge on a child.  Last week we met friends for a play date at the mall's play place.  As is typical for a Friday night, the play place was crowded, and there were a couple of rowdy older kids playing roughly amid all the little ones.  The kids were about 8 or 9, bigger, louder, and rougher than the rest of the group, and their parents either weren't there or didn't care that their little hooligans were terrorizing a play area geared toward much younger kids.  Anyway, I was sitting on a bench chatting with a friend and watching Bailey and her buddy play out of the corner of my eye, and watched these big kids plow into her and knock her flat on her ass a good 4 or 5 times.  Each time, she just got right back up and kept on playing with her friend, fairly unbothered by it all, so I didn't draw any extra attention to it.  Instead, I kept on sipping my coffee and chatting with my friend's husband...and waiting.  I saw the big kid running over from my right, so --quickly and without breaking conversation-- I stuck my foot out and tripped the kid.  He went down hard, a few of the other kids laughed, and I pretended like I didn't even see it.  He ran out of the play place, and we didn't see him again the rest of the night.  I don't condone "violence" or embarrassing others, but I'd do it again if I had to.  I hate punk kids ruining the fun for everyone else.  

...that Gerry peed through his pajamas in the middle of the night last week, and I just threw a clean blanket over it and went back to sleep.  It was roughly 2:45am, I had been up an hour earlier with Bailey, and I just didn't feel like spending the extra 10 minutes changing the sheets in his crib.  So I changed him into clean jammies, threw a thick blanket over the wet sheets, and put him back to sleep.  (I did change and wash all the sheets the next day).

...that I told Bailey she could only eat one piece of her Halloween candy last night, then when she went to bed I ate 6 fun-size candy bars.  I guess I owe her some chocolate.

...that Gerry almost fell down a flight of stairs because I wasn't paying attention.  It's been awhile since I had to keep a close eye on Bailey and the stairs, and I just spaced.  The basement door was wide open and I just happened to catch a glimpse of Gerry, arms and torso hanging over the top step, out of the corner of my eye.  I dove and grabbed his foot just as he was about to go tumbling down, and he just giggled like it was the most fun he's had in all his life...like a possible broken neck was just a game.  I forgot how fast he can drag himself places these days.

...that I went to the store the other day for a few Halloween treats for the kids and ended up buying a book for myself.  We really didn't have the extra money for me to spend, and I have about 64,000 books on the Kindle...but I wanted that book and so I impulse-bought it before I could talk myself out of it.  Along with a new lipstick.  

...that we all went to a Halloween costume party last weekend and I agreed to dress up as Jenny Matrix from Commando (Scott went as Arnold) for the sole purpose that the costume required very little effort and was comfortable.  I didn't have to stress about looking fat in my costume (I wore overalls and goofy sneakers), I didn't have to wear special makeup, and I could just let my hair air-dry after a shower instead of spending time blow-drying and flat-ironing the hell out of it.  Best costume I've worn yet.  

Isagenix Mini-Reveal

Scott and I have been on Isagenix for about 5 months now, and we're seeing some fantastic results that I thought maybe I ought to work up the courage to share with all of you.  I'll start with Scott since he's had incredible results...

Scott has lost more than 102 lbs since starting Isagenix back in May.  He's been 100% faithful to the program, and has combined healthy eating plus the Insanity workout program...and he looks amazing.  I am ridiculously proud of him, and I admire the hell out of his determination and willpower.  I'll admit that, when we first started, I was skeptical.  I didn't think it would "work" and I definitely didn't think that he or I would stick with it long enough to see anything worthwhile.  But we did...and look how great he looks!

What a difference!

Okay, my turn.  I haven't lost nearly as much weight as Scott has, but I attribute that to the fact that (1) I'm a woman, (2) I haven't been quite as faithful to the program as Scott has been, and (3) I haven't been able to exercise at all because of my back issues.  But whenever I start feeling discouraged, Scott is quick to remind me that I am seeing results.  I've lost more than 30 lbs in just 5 months.  I've lost all of my second pregnancy weight and then some, and am just 4 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight (not just with Gerry, but with Bailey, too!).  I'd still like to lose 15-20 more pounds, but I'm not going to complain about where I'm at right now.

Okay...so here's my "before" and "current"... (*deep, cleansing breath*)...here goes nothing.

Wow, that dirty mirror is embarrassing...

We're still going strong, and we're feeling good!  Scott is much, much better about it than I am, but we'll both continue taking pictures as we get to our goals.  If you need that extra push or want information about Isagenix and it's uses, please don't hesitate to email me...it really works!

What Being a Mom Looks Like....Blogging With a Purpose

Pre-motherhood, I had all these visions in my head of what my life would look like with children in it.  I'd be the "cool" mom.  The one who got her body back right away...the one whose kid was dressed in an adorable outfit every single day...the mom who had it all together...the one who juggled work, husband, child, life with seemingly no difficulty.  Little did I know that, for the first 6-8 months of motherhood, my life would be pretty much the exact opposite of my naive little vision.  But then it got better.  So much better.  And easier.  And more fun.  I figured it out and, while I may not be the "perfect" mom that I envisioned before actually having kids, I think that what I am works.  Being a mom is an incredible thing.  It's scary and nerve-wracking and all-consuming and downright lovely at times. 

Being a mom looks like...

...fatigue.  There's tired, then there's exhausted, then there's I-have-a-baby-and-have-been-up-since-2am-changing-diapers-and-feeding-and-rocking-and-patting-and-I'm-unable-to-function-in-normal-society.  Back in college, all-nighters were no big deal.  Sometimes, I even felt "cool" if I stayed up all night.  I bragged about my "adventures" while drinking my coffee and then clocked in a full day of work and/or classes.  Rinse and repeat...it was a breeze.  But nothing...nothing...could have prepared me for the sheer exhaustion of having a baby.  Bailey didn't sleep more than 4 hours a night until she was 10 months old, and even then she only gave us 5.  6 max.  She's still not a great sleeper (last night she fought sleep until after 11).  Never have I been more tired than those first few months with her.  Gerry, even though he's an awesome sleeper now, was up pretty much every hour throughout the night for the first few weeks.  It's lonely and draining, but it does get better.

Caffeine...every mother's BFF

...worry.  Almost constant worry.  Am I feeding her too much?  Am I feeding her enough?  Will I ruin her life and kill all her brain cells if I stop breastfeeding?  Will I turn him into a mama's boy if I breastfeed for too long?  Is my kid as smart as other kids her age?  As outgoing?  As funny?  On par developmentally?  I feel motherhood is a constant cycle of worry, worry, worry.  I'm always second-guessing myself when it comes to my kids.  Really, all they need is love, guidance, and praise...but there's always that little worried voice nagging in the back of my mind:  Am I doing this right?

...constant companionship.  Bailey was born 3 years ago and I haven't had a moment to myself since.  99% of the time, I love it.  I remember when she was an itty bitty baby, I used to tote her around with me everywhere.  To the grocery store, to Starbucks, to the library, the mall.  I loved having her with me, and I felt a special kind of pride whenever I went out with her.  As she got older, she still came with me everywhere, although more often than not it was because she cried so hard whenever I attempted to sneak away that I caved pretty much immediately and packed her up to tag along with me.  Same thing with Gerry after he was born.  I used to wear him in my Moby wrap and he came everywhere with me, and I liked it that way.  My kids are my life, two of my very favorite people in this world, and I enjoy spending all of my time with them.  But there are some times where, much as you love them, you just want to lock your darling children in another room just to get a few minutes alone.  I love my children...but I haven't gone to the bathroom alone in more than 3 years.  Seriously.  One of them is always there.  I love having a little buddy, though.  Not necessarily while I'm showering--but just about every other time.

True story

...fewer (and quicker) showers.  The first few weeks after Bailey was born, I could not get my act together.  My emotions were all over the place and I bounced around between feelings of elation (look at this beautiful creature I created!), fear (holy shit, she's awake again...don't make eye contact, DON'T MAKE EYE CONTACT!), and supreme fatigue.  I was so busy in mommy mode that there were quite a few days when I looked down at myself at 3 in the afternoon and realized that, not only was I still in my pajamas, but I also hadn't brushed my hair...and, OMG, is that spit up on my shirt?!  The first few weeks (hell, the first few months) of motherhood are so overwhelming and you're so focused on meeting the needs of your baby that it's easy to overlook the basic care for yourself. 

...a juggling act.    A mom wears SO many hats...wife, mother, nurse, cook, disciplinarian, employee.  It's hard, sometimes, to keep up with everything and it's easy to feel like you're not good enough to be able to do it all.

You got this, mom!

...a messy house.   I was never the neatest person to begin with.  But since having kids?  All semblance of order and tidiness went straight out the window.  Kids are messy, there's no getting around it, but that's not really why my house is never pristine.  It's because I don't want to waste my time deep-cleaning and organizing every room in my house when I could be spending that time with my children.  The other day, I had a load of laundry sitting out waiting to be folded, a sink full of dishes to be washed, and the bathroom was in serious need of a good cleaning.  In the middle of my scurrying around, I hear Bailey ask me in her tiny little voice, "Mama?  Want to build a tower with me?"  And my first instinct was to put her off, to tell her I'd come and build a tower with her after I finished all my cleaning.  Instead, I abandoned the laundry and the dishes and chose to overlook my messy bathroom, and I sat down and I built tower after tower and castle after castle with my daughter.  And I had a blast.  Turns out she's a pretty good tower-builder.  And she thinks I'm pretty awesome, too.  She stopped mid-tower a few times, looked at me and said, "I love you, Mommy.  You're my best friend ever!" and my heart melted.  See what I would have missed out on if I'd opted to spend my time cleaning rather than with her?

 

...unconditional love, endless giggles, and a happiness you never knew you could have.  In between all those sleepless nights, the worry, the tantrums, and the mess is the most incredible feeling of awe.  Awe at the teeny little person you created, awe at all of the amazing things they can do, awe that you could ever love someone so much or feel so much pride in another human being.  It makes everything else simply disappear. 

Gerry: 9 Months Old

Gerry is 9 months old today, and what an amazing 9 months it's been!  I absolutely adore this boy, and I feel so lucky that I get to be his mommy.  He's got this amazing personality now and he's full of laughs and giggles, and I die from the cuteness of it all every single day.

No stats on weight or height just yet, but I'll update after his next doctor's appointment.  He's solid, though, I will say that!  He's still a great eater and has always been a good sleeper, although he's been waking up sometime between 2 and 5am to eat for the last few weeks.

He's started to roll around a lot, which means that he does that instead of going to sleep right away, both at bedtime and for nap time.  I constantly find him like this on the video monitor:

Just laying there, staring at the camera.  He scoots and rolls all over the crib before finally dozing off.  And the noise!  I swear, this boy has no concept of quiet.  He does this screech thing that reminds Scott and me of a trapped pterodactyl-- not out of anger or distress, but simply because he can.  And it's loud.  But he's happy!

His total inability to keep still has finally resulted in him "crawling".  It's more like scooting across the floor using sheer upper body strength...but he still gets to where he wants to go!  And now that he can, nothing and no one is safe.  It's time to seriously baby-proof the house.

He's also got this goofy, Woody Woodpecker-type laugh these days, and I find it absolutely adorable.  He thinks just about everything is funny, so we're treated to his little giggles on a regular basis.

And, as always, he and Bailey are best buds.  She's so different with him than she is with other kids, and even with herself.  The other day, she was building a tower with Legos and it kept falling over.  She freaked out every time, yelling out loud and smacking her hands on the floor.  But when Gerry scooted over and knocked her tower over?  In a soft crooning voice:  "Aww, it's okay, Handsome.  Accidents happen."  I love seeing their faces light up when they see each other, and I love how they interact together, especially now that Gerry's got more mobility and more of a personality.

I say this every day, and I'll continue to say it:  I am so lucky.  So lucky that I get to be their mommy.  So lucky that they're mine and that they love each other.  So lucky that I have two happy kids.  They are pure bliss wrapped up in two adorably small packages, and I love watching them grow.

Making funny faces!

Our Week In Review

My last few posts have been nothing but Blogging With a Purpose, which I love, but I feel like I'm kind of neglecting the "original" theme of this blog, which is tracking our daily lives.  I still have a few BWAPs to catch up on, but for now I want to share some "family-oriented" things.

Bailey drew a picture of me the other day, and I almost cried at how wonderful it was.  In typical toddler fashion, it's pretty much just a big head with giant eyes and 2 sticks poking out from underneath...but it's hers.  Six months ago...hell, two months ago...she was still just making scribbles and random lines on her paper so when she said, "Look, Mommy, I made a picture of you!" I was expecting more of the same-- a line or four on her paper...maybe a squiggle or a circle here and there.  Imagine my surprise when I looked down and saw what resembled an actual person!  I squealed.  Literally.  I was shocked and she was so proud of herself.  Now, I know she's no Van Gogh, but she's my little artist, and I'm ridiculously proud of her.  Right now her masterpiece is hanging on the fridge, but I'm going to take it a step further and frame it.  I know, I know...but it's happening.

We celebrated Scott's 31st birthday on Friday (and Saturday and Sunday).  My mom and dad watched the kids so he and I could go out to dinner, and we had a great time.  We brought home a small dessert, lit a few candles and sang Happy Birthday to him...and, of course, Bailey blew out the candles.  Then Saturday, we went to lunch with Scott's parents, and Sunday was dinner with my side of the family.  So, more cake...not that I'm complaining!

Speaking of Scott...

He's lost 90lbs since starting Isagenix in May.  90lbs!  I still can't get over how awesome he's doing.  He pretty much needs a whole new wardrobe since all his old clothes are hanging off of him now.  He's healthier and happier and I'm so incredibly proud of him.  It's not easy to do, but he's sticking with it and also doing the Insanity program...all while working, coaching and helping to raise two kids.  He amazes me.  <3

Gerry is close to crawling these days.  He's pulling himself up on his arms and kicking his legs, but he doesn't quite have the hang of getting up on his knees yet.  He'll get there, but in the meantime I'm just enjoying watching him figure out all the ways his body can move and do things.

He's mastered clapping:

But dressing him in Redskins gear hasn't helped the team...

And me?  Well, I'm happy to say that I've lost almost 60lbs since Gerry was born.  I've still got 15 to go to get to my "goal weight", but I'm not complaining!

I Said I Would Never....

This week's Blogging With a Purpose, I'll admit, was humbling for me.  I distinctly remember working in a daycare center after college and saying to my co-workers numerous times, "I will never..."in response to something idiotic a parent did to or with or in front of their kid.  I can remember one winter morning when I was teaching preschool in that same center, I got a phone call from the parent of one of my 3-year-old students that went like this:

Parent:  (frantic) Jess!  L is dead set on wearing a dress to school today, but she's freaking out and refuses to wear tights with the dress and it's freezing out.  What should I do?

Me:  Just pack her up, throw a pair of tights in her backpack, and bring her on in.  I'll make sure she wears the tights.

Parent:  (big sigh)  Thanks, Jess.  I don't know what her deal is this morning.

I hung up the phone, rolled my eyes, and wondered how in the world this woman was letting her 3-year-old get away with being the boss.  Fast forward four years, and now I totally get it.  Before I had kids of my own, there were a million and one things I swore I would never do.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I was downright smug when it came to parenting -- before I came a parent myself.  Back then, I said I would never...

...force my kid to take a nap if she didn't want to.  It's laughable how naive I was before having kids.  Of course I'm going to make my kid take a nap!  (At the very least, she has to have at least an hour of"quiet time" in her bedroom after lunch)  It's the only break I get all day and we both need it.  On days when she doesn't nap, Bailey is a little monster by 5pm.  And then, of course, she's so over-tired that she won't sleep at night, and it's a vicious cycle of grumpiness.  Lesson learned.  Naps are good.

... "wear" my baby.  I love my children, but who wants a baby strapped to their chest all the time, right?  I thought it was kind of weird, and would probably be uncomfortable.  Until I tried it...and fell in love.  There's something so wonderful about the weight of your baby as he snuggles up and falls asleep on your chest.  Not to mention the fact that the baby loves it, and it promotes that bonding experience between mother and child.  I wish I had known better when Bailey was a baby.  Luckily, I got a clue by the time Gerry was born.  I love, love, loved wearing him in my Moby wrap and was so sad when he started to outgrow it before I was ready.

...give in to my kids' temper tantrums.  Well, this went out the window pretty quickly.  I learned right away that it was much easier to discipline other kids than it was to discipline my own.  I swear it has something to do with the fact that they're biologically mine.  It makes me physically ache when my kids cry or are sad...I don't feel the same sense of  "detachment"  in my children's tantrum situations that I do with kids who aren't mine.  Does that make any sense?  I have an easier time saying no when it's not my kid.  Anyway, Bailey was {and still is} the QUEEN of the temper tantrum.  She's made it an art form, and she can go from calm to crazy psycho child in a matter of seconds with little to no warning.  I've learned to pick my battles with her.  You want a popsicle?  You have to eat dinner first.  Oh, no...don't start crying....no, don't throw yourself on the floor...please stop screaming...okay, fine.  Have a popsicle, but don't tell daddy.

... "spank" my kids.  And I never have.  I feel very strongly that there are much better ways to discipline a child, and that spanking a child only teaches him or her that it's okay to do.  And, in my opinion, it's not.


...enroll my daughter in dance class.  I'm not a girly-girl, and always thought that my daughter would play sports.  When I was pregnant with Bailey, Scott and I both swore that we'd never paint her room pink and that we'd urge her to play sports when she hit the right age.  "No ballerinas for us!" I said.  Joke's on me, I guess, because at 3-years-old my daughter's favorite color is pink, she wants to be a princess for Halloween, and she insisted on taking dance classes this year. 

That's Bailey in the middle...in the pink top and black tights with leg warmers

...let my kid have a pacifier past the age of 1.  I'm hanging my head in shame because we're still battling with Bailey to ditch the bink...and she's 3.

...do something like this to my kids:

...let a day go by without telling my kids that I love them.  To the moon and back.  And I haven't. 

Next Week's Topic:  What Being a Mom Looks Like