So, I was talking to the Ladies over at one of my favorite charities about an upcoming event. I was holding Dubs’ and noticed he needed a diaper change. We finished our conversation, I said my good-byes and headed to the truck to change his diaper.
Since my mommy has done zero about my blog debut, I decided to do it myself.
Now that I am days away from being 6 months old, I thought I would share some fun facts about me otherwise it may never happen.
I’m just saying.
A couple of weeks before Christmas break, I got a call from Georgia Peach’s preschool…
The Office Lady: Hello. This is The Office Lady from “The Best Preschool In Town” (well, it is). Your daughter, GP has been complaining that her head hurts and she wants to come home.
Me: Her head hurts? Did she fall? Was she hit in the head? What happened?
The Office Lady: Her Teacher says she has mentioned that her head hurt a couple of times so, she thought she should just come home.
Me: Okay, I am on my way.
Now, from the time I ended the call until I got to the school (a 10 minute ride from our house), I had self diagnosed GP with everything from an aneurysm to a tumor! My mind was in overdrive so, I needed to get there quickly.
As I arrived at the school and readied myself to get out of the truck, I noticed my attire. And it did. not. look. good!
After I dropped off GP at school earlier that day, I decided to sort clothes to donate to Goodwill. Naturally, if I came across something I was on the fence about putting in the bag, I would try it on to ensure I wanted to give it up. I know…such a charitable heart.
When I received the call, I was trying on a maxi dress that I would normally wear with a tank top underneath because of the plunging neckline. I had been home alone all morning, so didn’t pay much attention to my clothes or what was “exposed”. I never thought to change clothes, I just grabbed my keys and left. Thankfully, I am obsessed with cardigans and had one in the truck with me. Whew! Unfortunately…it was a v-neck and didn’t help. Boo! Now, I was in a “make it work” situation a la Project Runway and felt Tim Gunn would be somewhat displeased with how I fashioned the top of the v-neck sweater together with my child’s hair accessories.
Sorry, Tim.
I dashed into the school clutching my sweater top and checked in with the security guard. He instructed me to head to the office. I rushed into the office and noticed my baby laying in the chair. I picked her up and began asking what was wrong.
Me: Hey, Sweet Pea. Are you okay?
GP: Mommy, my head hurts.
Me: Where does it hurt? Did you hit your head?
Interrupting our one-on-one…
The Office Lady: You will need to sign her out.
I throw her a look.
Relax, Lady. This is my first sick call and I don’t see a line forming behind me.
As I leaned down to put GP back in the chair, the hair accessories holding my sweater top closed start to shift in unflattering ways. Luckily, the verbally observant GP doesn’t notice I am coming undone. I grabbed the top of the sweater, turned around and leaned down to sign her out. By the time I picked GP back up, the sweater was open and “situations” were in jeopardy of being exposed. I positioned her in front to cover me and carried her through the church lobby (yep, her preschool is in a church) to get to the parking lot.
Once we got home, I gave GP some Children’s Tylenol and we cuddled on the couch until she fell asleep. A few hours later she was all better and that dress ended up in the “toss pile”:-)
After I spoke to GP’s Teacher, it all made sense. For the past 3 days, GP and I had been picking up her BFF, Carolina Belle from her preschool to play until her mother picked her up from our house. So GP had been skipping her much-needed daily nap to play.
Side Note: Anyone that has spent more than 10 minutes with GP knows that Carolina Belle is her BFF. Recently, GP convinced a friend at school that Carolina Belle (who attends a different school in a neighboring town) was also their BF. GP was so convincing that the little girl’s Mother asked me about their new friend, Carolina Belle! GP will do anything to spend as much time with Carolina Belle as possible.
Turns out she was simply an exhausted preschooler, too much play and not enough rest. Seriously, when will I learn? Truly some of our finest work as a Mother/Daughter team.
Until the next adventure…:-)
Last week, our Sweet Baby Girl turned 3 years old! Time is passing much too fast for me, I am not a fan. 😦 It seems like only yesterday I was rocking Georgia Peach as an infant. Okay, it probably was yesterday we sometimes play “Baby Goo Goo” in which she rocks HER baby (whose name is Goo Goo) and I rock her. Anyway…The Coach and I have quickly become fans of a party a few days before her birthday and having her all to ourselves on her actual birthdate. 🙂 So, in honor of our GP’s birthday, I decided to take a picture every couple of hours to document the activities of her special day.
So, I present to you… A Georgia Peach Kinda Day!
First, we dropped off The Coach at Football Camp...
Next, a stop at her special occasion only breakfast spot…
A little playtime with her bathroom toys…
And no day is complete without a little jumping…
All that jumping can make a girl hungry. Time for one of her favorite snacks…
It’s craft time!
Time for a carriage ride! Thanks to the Ladies at Plantation Carriage Company for the birthday love!
This day would NOT be complete without a little pizza. “The Lineage “with Wheat crust from YourPie is the business. Get some, for real!
Can we ride on the boat now?
Hope you had a great day, my Sweet!
This summer GeorgiaPeach (GP) was blessed to have two birthday parties! First, a small party at our home and then a family party back in the Land of Lincoln. I know! Sounds crazy to have two parties for a two-year old BUT, her very first birthday was a party of four (GP, the Coach, our dog, and a sad Mommy). I grew up in a very large and supportive family where birthdays, all sporting events, dance recitals, and concerts were celebrated, supported, and attended. If you had an event, someone in our family was there to support you. I wanted Georgia Peach to have similar memories of the “Family Birthday Party” with scores of her Aunties, Uncles, and Cousins so, we decided to travel to the love fest. Thanks, Coach!
As with most things these days, I learned a thing or two about Kiddie Parties…
Take Pictures Early
GP loves Elmo so, I made her Elmo’s face out of a platter of fruit. Now, I am NO Martha Stewart, I am more of the Pinterest Fail Kinda Mommy BUT, I will try. So when I made this for GP and it somewhat resembled Elmo I was excited! 🙂 But here is where I made my FIRST mistake… I finished my precious Elmo, put him on the table and began to finish up some last-minute items. As people started to arrive, I invited them to enjoy the food when I realized I forget to take a picture of Elmo! By the time I snapped the picture, he STILL looked like Elmo but, a little troubled in the mouth area (the blueberries were good!). Nevertheless, the Elmo face was a hit and the Parents loved the fresh fruit and yogurt option.
Don’t Be Tardy for the Party
Anyone that truly knows me knows that I take my parties and party planning very seriously. From the invitations to the food, the favors to the music, the thank-you cards to the decor, I try to make sure it is all cohesive ( or at least cute!). An hour or so into the party, I started to panic a little when I thought we could possibly run out of pizza. We still had an extra-large left but, I was worried. How could this happen? Just when I was about to order another pizza and send the Coach out to pick it up, I mentioned to my Cousin LudaLike (Ha!) what I was about to do.
LudaLike: What time did the party start?
Me: 11A. It ends at 1P, I need to keep GP on her nap schedule.
LudaLike: If someone shows up at this point and there is no pizza, don’t worry about it. Party started at 11A. Save your money.
Me: Oh wise younger Cousin and experienced Father, I like it. Sounds like a plan.
Turns out we didn’t even need an additional pizza. The remaining pizza was enough and we nibbled on it hours after the party ended. Whew!
SpitCakes Anyone?
If I don’t remember anything from this party I will never forget this…
Since our sweet daughter loves cupcakes, My Fabulous Aunt J offered to have an Elmo cupcake cake made for her. She is extremely generous and it was a cute idea. Thanks again, Aunt J! We lit the candles and gathered everyone around to sing, ”Happy Birthday”. When the song was over the family started to hype GP up into blowing out the candles. But…
I didn’t let her blow out them out!
I mean who wants toddler spit on their cupcakes, right? Apparently, everyone except me. When I say this was a BIG MISTAKE, I mean I may as well flipped the table in a fit of rage RHONJ style from the looks and comments I got! I thought I was going to get kicked out of my OWN child’s party for this move. In hindsight, I should have put the candles on her own cupcake and let her blow out the candles. Lesson learned.
Seriously, next year everyone gets spitcake! You’re welcome. 🙂
Now that I have some extra time, (I was laid off after being employed at a company for 7.5 years earlier this month), I have been spending the majority of it with the Coach (we are BOTH actively looking for new jobs!) and gearing Georgia Peach (GP) up for preschool. One of the ways we are preparing is doing a daily activity/project with her. Some know that my beloved Mother was a devoted and amazing Teacher, so I try to channel her loving spirit when working with GP on her letters, numbers/counting, shapes, colors, songs, and art projects. 🙂
On this special day, I decided to dust off the Baby Hand Print Kit we received as a BABY SHOWER GIFT (yes, we know GP is two) and see if GP and I could make some memories. We definitely made a memory! Just ask the Coach, he walked in on the action as it was unfolding.
I followed the instructions to the letter or so I thought…
Mix the contents of the bag with ⅔ water in the plastic container until smooth.~Got it.
Let the mixture set for 2-3 mins~Okay. Let’s get some water while we wait.
Press child’s hand in the mixture for 10 seconds and remove, works best when the child is asleep~She doesn’t need to be asleep! But something doesn’t seem right…
Let the plaster dry in the container for 3 hours.
Here is what we ended up with…
I helped GP trace her name in the plaster with a pencil.
Art project fail.
At least GP had fun and the Coach had a good time laughing at us. 🙂
So, the Coach was visiting my Mother In Law and decided to spend another night with her. When the Coach travels, our house becomes unbalanced aka wacky house. Both Georgia Peach (GP) and Coco Bean (our Yorkie) respond in their own special way.
Coco will sit upstairs in a chair that overlooks the driveway and street until the Coach returns. He will go out to do his “business”, eat, and drink some water only to resume his post until the Coach is home. Kinda sweet.
Our little Georgia Peach will go into every room in the house calling for “Daddy” when she thinks it’s time for him to be home. Normally, I can distract her with her bedtime routine but, this particular night she had other things planned for her naive Mommy.
After putting her down for what I thought was the night, an hour later I hear… “Helloooo? Helloooo? Mommy!”
I walk to her room to find GP standing up in her crib. I check the room temperature, her diaper, her blankets, her “baby” doll all fine. I kiss her, lay her back down, walk out of the room, and close her door. For the next FIVE hours we do the “My Daddy Didn’t Kiss Me Goodnight So It’s Your Problem Now, Mommy” dance.
Frustrated and exhausted (and by this time laying on the couch) I sent a text to the Coach.
Me: Your child has been up every hour since I laid her down. Checked everything, she is fine. So tired.
The Coach: I’m sorry, babe. If you checked and she is fine, next time don’t go in there, just let her get back to sleep on her own. She will be fine.
Me: Okay, I’ll try it.
Twenty minutes later… “Helloooo? Helloooo? Mommy! MomMEEEE! Helloooo Hi!! Mommy!”
Then, she starts to cry and the ‘Hellos’ become louder and funnier (don’t judge me, if you heard it you would agree, funny!). I was chuckling quietly on the couch when she stops crying and I think, “Wow, the Coach might actually be onto something.”
That’s when I heard it…
THUMP!
I think I stopped breathing! My heart was pounding in my chest as I ran into her room to find that my TWO YEAR OLD had revolted and climbed/jumped/fell out of her crib (she hasn’t even tried to climb out of the crib up until this point so, seriously?)!
I picked her up frantically checking her head, eyes, ears, arms, legs at the same time kissing and hugging her. GP didn’t cry at all, put her head on my shoulder, and went back to sleep. I laid her down in her crib and went back to the couch.
Obviously, I didn’t go back to sleep. I was freaked out and afraid Georgia Peach would slip into a coma or something so spent the rest of the night checking on her. Of course, I sent a text to the Coach which by this time was fast asleep in FL so, he didn’t see the message until he woke up.
Me: Ummm, your Baby JUMPED out of her crib. I no longer take advice from you.
A couple of years ago I was out with two of my favorite cousins. We were planning to meet up with one of my close friends (she was the person responsible for the Coach and I meeting!) to celebrate with her while I was in Atlanta. In the car on the way to the restaurant, we were catching up and somehow started sharing personal celebrity look-alike stories. One of my cousins told us how someone told him he looked like Ludacris, which if he wears shades he KINDA does. We were cracking up so, I decided to share my story.
Now, to be clear, these were other people’s thoughts of who we looked like. We think we all look like a combo of our parents but, who cares about our opinion right?
Me: “I’m not exactly sure where I was but, I do remember it was right after I graduated from college.”
Cousin Ludacris Look Alike: (Snickering) “How many years ago was that, again?”
Me: “Shut it! Anyway, this man comes up to me and says, ‘Has anybody ever told you look JUST like Whoopi Goldberg??’ Umm, thank you?
I don’t remember what happened after that honestly I think I blacked out.
Cousin Ludacris Look Alike who was driving and my Other Cousin go into hysterics! Laughing like I am Kevin Hart (who is HILARIOUS by the way), in between asking if I was serious.
I was.
Fast forward to about two weeks ago…on our (the Coach, Georgia Peach, and I) way to the beach we stop at a gas station. While the Coach is filling up the truck, Georgia Peach and I head into the convenience store to grab some waters. When we get to the counter to pay, the store clerk says, “Aww she is so cute (referring to GP).”
Me: “Thank you.”
Store Clerk: “Is she your child?”
Me: (Slightly confused) “Yes.”
Store Clerk: “Oh.”
Oh?? Seriously?
I guess GP doesn’t look like Whoopi. 😉
A few weeks ago, our Nanny (formerly known as Junk Food Nanny-she has traded the Funyuns for salads and fruit smoothies!) asked if we could watch her son while she and her husband went out. We love their son, he has been apart of our lives since he was born, he is now 15 months so not a problem, right?
Wrong.
Enter the wild card aka our little Georgia Peach. Now, she plays with the Nanny’s son EVERYDAY. She shares her toys with him, she is kind to him, they go to storytime every week together. So, what could be the issue?
Me.
Apparently, the idea of me taking care of another baby es no bueno for GP. Here is a snippet of how our little genius would play me. If she noticed that our Nanny’s son was in my arms she would say…
“Mommy, hugs?” I would bend down to hug her (with our Nanny’s son still in my arms) and the then she would and say, “Up, Mommy”. She got me. Now, I am walking around with 2 toddlers in my arms.
How do parents with kids close in age or even the same age manage?
My sweet sweet Cousin and her Husband have two boys 10 months apart, the youngest is one of my Godsons, they definitely have their hands full on a daily basis. So, when I was in the throes of 1 of 4 tantrums from GP, I thought…do we REALLY want to add another child to our family? Can we handle it? More importantly, can I handle it?
Yeah, no. We can not handle it. 🙂
The Coach was asleep through most of the episodes but, was awaken to my teapot whistling (yeah, I thought I was going to have some tea), a barking dog, and a screaming child (GP). He comes into GP’s room where I was putting her pajamas on but, she was not having it and sees our Nanny’s son happily playing with GP’s crib.
The Coach: So, you still want to have another baby?
Me: Right now, might not be the best time to ask me. I have no idea how our Nanny does this everyday! And just think, The Incredibles (our very close friends whom we love and adore-we nicknamed them after the movie cause they are umm, incredible parents) have FOUR kids! God Bless ’em!
Our Nanny’s son is teething and his parents warned me that he may be a little irritable. No worries, we are prepared. GP almost has a complete set of teeth so we have been through the worst of it. When I tell you he was an absolute angel, believe me he was! He played with GP in between her tantrums, let me read books to him, ate like a champ, allowed me to brush his teeth, and went to sleep easily.
Our GP, well not so much…let’s just say she made a very convincing argument for being an only child that night.
Seriously, I Didn't Know 
