Not Up In Here
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.
5 Ways to Dodge Early Pregnancy Whispers
Quick note: This was originally posted FIVE years ago, so I am not pregnant.
If you are like me you are ecstatic to be pregnant and plan to share your good news when YOU are ready. The problem is, well…life and with the holidays in full effect, you may wonder a bit how you are going to keep your early stages of pregnancy under wraps with all the festivities.
Continue reading → 5 Ways to Dodge Early Pregnancy WhispersHow About That 8%
Happy New Year! We are gearing up for an unprecedented year of success and positive growth in all aspects of our lives. We wish nothing but the same for you and your family!
Normally, I don’t ‘do’ resolutions but, this year I decided I would give it a try. First, I started with a little bit of research on where this tradition came from in the first place. According to History.com, the practice can be traced back to ancient Babylon when their resolutions were as discernible as vowing to return borrowed farm equipment. Oddly enough, I probably know someone who would legitimately state this as a New Year’s Resolution, TODAY. Resolutions through the ages. 🙂
The Top 5 Resolutions for 2014 are:
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Losing weight
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Getting organized
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Spending less and saving more
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Enjoying life to the fullest
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Staying fit and healthy
Most know, I “grew up” in corporate America and have written performance goals for my teams (and myself) more than I care to even count. So seeing these types of “goals” makes me want to vomit. There is nothing actionable about them! How are you going to achieve them? Garbage.
So, I took a stab at picking something attainable this year. Here is a peek at my rough drafts…
- Take it all the way down to zero on the cussing by not cussing. I have done pretty well since the Oh, Shirt experience. So this one is doable but, I would have to actually think of more suitable words. Thinking before speaking? Seems very mature and something an adult would do. Hmmm…might be too hard. 🙂
- Stop watching all but one reality tv show by deleting all of the scheduled recordings (except for the chosen show) and NOT watching any I happen to stumble upon while channel surfing. But which one would I choose? This would leave me mostly watching Scandal, most of the line up on HGTV and The King of Queens re-runs. Are House Hunters, House Hunters International and Property Brothers considered reality tv shows? I hope not, because I’m not sure how I would fare without the Property Brothers.
Be on time by planning ahead more effectively. This will take more than a year to master and is more of a lifelong resolution. Do they have those?-
Truly listening while engaged in conversations by talking less. Hmmm.
I settled on the last one. 🙂 Here’s why..
Most people always ask the Coach and I how Georgia Peach is doing and my response is usually, “She’s great but, she talks non-stop.” After I kept saying it, I started thinking that maybe she was getting it from me. Do I blah blah blah all the time? I don’t necessarily think so but, I know as well as anyone that a little introspection never hurt and with that I made a decision on my resolution. A little less noise from me isn’t the worst thing, I guess. I will just channel that noise into my writing. More fun for you. :-).
So, do you have any resolutions this year? If so, don’t let the numbers get you down. In a study conducted by the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology, it is estimated that of the 45% of Americans that make resolutions only 8% are successful at keeping them.
Here’s to the 8%!
Oh and I decided to dial back my cussing too. 🙂
Do It Now!
Sometimes the encouragement you need comes from an unexpected source. 🙂
Thanks to the amazing staff at Lululemon (slightly obsessed with the brand by the way) in Jacksonville, FL for their hospitality. Here’s hoping I am able to post actual content earlier than 11:59p tomorrow. National Blog Posting Month aka NaBloPoMo is proving to be a little more challenging than I hoped, but tomorrow is another day!
Talk Baby To Me
If you are a parent, I guarantee this has happened to you (or is happening to you now it just depends on the age of your child). Shortly after Georgia Peach was born, the Coach and I started to notice how some people would speak to us THROUGH our baby in an effort to tell us what they thought about our parenting.
Went a little something like this…
Passive Aggressive Person (talking to your baby): “You don’t need this pacifier you are almost 12 weeks old! Let me have it” (as they try to remove your boob saver aka pacifier from your infant’s mouth).
Listen Lady, Georgia Peach is a very enthusiastic breastfeeder if you would like to take a go at it being her food source every couple of hours, please be my guest. I could so use a nap.
The worst part about this form of ‘Baby Talk’ is that it turned out to be contagious…I caught myself doing the same thing to our Nanny! Boo. 😉
Ever happen to you?
Oh Shirt!
For the past three months, I have been living in a semi state of fear…of my two-year old.
Here’s the long and short of it…
One day while Georgia Peach (GP) was playing she accidentally knocked over her tower of Lego’s and I thought I heard her say something when they fell. I brushed it off and kept it moving. A few days past and while drinking her water GP spilled some on the floor and as clear as day…I heard what I thought I heard her say the other day.
“Oh, sh*&!!”
What??? No no no no no no no! The room started spinning! I freaked out and said to GP, “DON’T SAY THAT!!”.
I started to panic.
She started to cry. 😦
I immediately start apologizing, hugging, and consoling my sweet girl. I knew she heard someone say it and I was determined to get to the bottom of who had turned my Southern Belle into a two-year old trucker. I knew it wasn’t her fault.
The reality of the situation started to settle into my brain. Did we just become THOSE parents? You know what I’m talking about. We have all witnessed a little one saying something a tad bit naughty and perhaps thinking (I’m just saying, I have) ‘What is that kid’s parents teaching him/her? Terrible.’ Now, the problem is in my house. I can hear our neighbors now, “Georgia Peach has always been such a sweet girl. We can’t believe it. Things like this never happen in our neighborhood…” 😉
To add to my angst one tiny additional detail…she was scheduled to start preschool at a Christian school in a few weeks. She is going to get kicked out the first week! We will be on the local news.
I started with the Coach. After I explained to him what happened, he told me that I probably heard her incorrectly and she was likely saying, ‘shirt’. After all she is only two and still working on speaking to us fluently in English (we are pretty sure her current language is a mix between French and Chinese). Nope. I know what I heard and it wasn’t ‘shirt’. Besides, she used it in the right context. Who says, “Oh, shirt!”?
At this point, I am living in fear. I’m worried that something will trigger the phrase and I will be outed as a terrible Mommy.
A few days past and I dropped something on the floor and without thinking, I said, “Oh sh*&!”.
Nooooooo. Aww man, it was me! I am the bad influence on my precious angel. I like how I didn’t think to consider myself as the culprit in this entire situation. Seriously, I’m an idiot.
I tried a number of ways to correct the problem when finally the Coach came up with a solution that stuck. Anytime we heard her say well you know, we corrected her and replaced it with…
‘Oh, shu shu!’
It worked! For us both. 😉 And just in time to start preschool.
Now, even though we have moved past it, I still have “Mommy Shame” about the entire situation. I am just relieved GP only shared her new words with us. Whew!
Let Them Eat Cake
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. 🙂
She Got It From Her Nana
It has been amazing to watch our Georgia Peach (GP) and her little two-year old personality emerge. The Coach and I are struck almost daily by the things she shows us… the good and the not so good (more to come on that). 😉
Not Exactly…An Art Project
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…
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Mix the contents of the bag with ⅔ water in the plastic container until smooth.~Got it.
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Let the mixture set for 2-3 mins~Okay. Let’s get some water while we wait.
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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…
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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. 🙂
It’s Your Problem Now
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.
Seriously, I Didn't Know 
