Not Me! Monday on Tuesday

I wrote most of this blog in preparation for Monday, but I ran out of time to finish it. But I wouldn't post a Not Me! blog on Tuesday. Nope, not me!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Here's our weekly opportunity to bare our souls, confess our blunders and come clean with our shortcuts in life and mommyhood.

I certainly have NOT been bemoaning the static number on the scale, while still indulging in almost nightly desserts. Not me, I always stick to my diet.

My shoulders and back are NOT sunburnt from an outing with my kids. While I coat my children carefully with plenty of sunscreen, I would NOT forget to coat myself.

Even though my 5.5month old is showing some signs of being ready to start solids, I am NOT avoiding it because it will add one more thing to my already full life. I would NOT decide that nursing more is easier and try to hold off on that cereal a few more weeks.

And when the sheet in the co-sleeper needs changing, I would NOT just flip it around so that the dirty (slobber, spit-up infested) portion is at her feet. Nope. NOT me.

My sweet husband is NOT currently wii bowling right now, practicing, because a bunch of kids almost beat him last night! He did NOT just say to me, "I refuse to let those kids beat me."

Although my two-year-old has been potty-training since Memorial Day weekend, I did NOT just buy her first actual panties. Which means she has NOT been going commando since then. And I did NOT recently find a photo that proves the point. Nope, not me.

So, what's NOT new with you?

They're my girls!

I love comparing photos. Photos of the girls at the same ages. Photos of Bean and I compared to the girls. It's fun to see the similarities and the differences. To see how our girls are so individual in their looks, yet they bear a family resemblance as well.

I was looking for some other photos and came across this one of myself--and realized there were some similarites to a recent professional photo of Gracie. People usually find more resemblance in the girls to Bean than to myself. I don't often hear that they look like me. But in this photo, I definately see a lot of similarities. Gracie and I are both 2 in these photos. She is my girl!! (Can you believe how blonde and straight my hair is? Now it's dark and curly. Crazy puberty.)




So of course I had to search out Miss Rose's 2-year photos. Miss Rose definately favors her dad more than me, however she totally has my chin and jaw line. And of course my post-puberty curly hair!




Pictures are fun! I haven't been as good about photos of Lily. I need to get on that. We WILL get her 6 month photos done at the end of the month. I have photos of both Miss Rose and Gracie at 6 months in blue/green/aqua sundresses. Not matching, just similar color schemes. Both were gifts. When we recieved the dress for Gracie, I knew we had to do a photo in it to match what we already had for Miss Rose. So now I'm on the hunt for a THIRD complimentary dress for Lily. We want to get them framed in matching frames eventually and put them somewhere special in the house.

It will be fun to see how Lily changes and grows into her look just as the other girls have. So far I see quite a mix of how Miss Rose and Gracie looked as infants.

The one thing I have yet to do is PRINT the photos we have. Thank goodness for digital photography!

And the Beco gets the win

When it comes to baby purchases, I like to be frugal (lots of craigslist and baby resale stores) but sometimes, when it really matters, it's worth spending the money. We all have our "must have" items.

Diaper bags have been one of my most sought after items. Looking for one that was the right size, with the right compartments. My first favorite came from Pottery Barn Kids . After having Gracie, I found the Skip Hop dash (purchased for a steal on ebay) and have gotten a TON of use out of it. Now, I'm looking forward to trying this one from my Celebrity Bump Bag. I think it may fulfill my unrealized desire for one of these bags.

Another huge deal for me was finding the right double stroller--I decided a jogger would be most useful--and was so excited to find my Bob Revolution Duallie on craigslist at a savings of over $200 new. This stroller has now seen us through many trips to Sea World, the zoo, the fair and MANY miles run at the lake.

The only baby carrier I ever used with Miss Rose was the Baby Bjorn. I never found it very comfortable and didn't use it as much as I thought I would. She was my firstborn, so I was able to carry her in my arms quite a bit.

By the time Gracie was born, the babywearing buzz had hit and I thought I would give it a try. After all, with a 3-year old to care for as well, I would need a way to be hands free. I found a New Native sling at a baby resale for just $15 and it turned out to be one of my best purchases! [In fact, I couldn't decide if I wanted to purchase it or not. So I originally left the store without it. But after reconsideration, I called and they held it for me.]

Gracie was quite a colicky baby and I spent many wee hours of the morning pacing the house with her in the sling. She loved it. She would fall asleep in an instant in the sling and enjoyed many waking hours there too. As she got older, she would wave her hands and kick her feet in excitment when she saw the sling. When Gracie was 3 months old I spent 10 days in Ireland on a missions trip and the sling was invaluable.

Lily, notsomuch a fan of the sling. This time around I gave Hotsling a try. [I must confess, I don't find the sling deep enough and it's not as great as the New Native.] There have been a few times she's slept for a bit in the sling, but usually she arches her back and fights it.

Lily loves to be upright. Hence the search for another style of babywearing. I found this chart helpful. It boiled down to the Ergo and the Beco. I heard positive reviews of both. There were two swinging factors for me. Construction and style.

My Beco arrived a few weeks ago. I decided that was what I really wanted for my birthday. Yes, I know it's really for the baby and not for me. But it makes my life easier, so it's for me in some ways. And it was hard to justify the price, just for another baby carrier. I liked that the construction of it supported a smaller baby. We tried a mei tai, but it just made Lily mad because her head doesn't sit high enough yet. I think once she's taller, we'll get more use out of it. Plus the Beco comes in a ton of cute patterns, and I chose River.

We've had some VERY successful uses of the Beco so far. Lily seems to feel very secure in it, and she can see out of it. The most convicing experience so far was that she was content to stay in it while I sat a baseball recently for about 45 minutes. When she's in a sling, I have to be up and moving for her to be content.

It made a BIG Target shopping trip a cinch since I could put Gracie in the cart and not have to worry about the infant seat or Lily getting mad in the sling like what happened at Costco one time.

Yes...the Beco was the little surprise I was waiting for...and it gets the win for baby carriers this time around. [I'm glad too, that it seems to have good resale value, which is another criteria I use when making purchases!]

Here we are at the zoo...she refused to fall asleep in the stroller, but it didn't take long in the Beco. And there is the handy cover to shield her from the sun! [photo taken by Miss Rose, that's a elephant statue in the background and Gracie in the jogger]

Not Me! Monday

Confession is good for the soul, and none of us is perfect! This is a great opportunity to share those moments you're not so proud of and the ones you can't help but laugh at.

I haven't played along in a few weeks and I'm sure I've wracked up more Not Me! moments than I will be able to recall.

I did not notice this afternoon that there was pee in the potty chair (which sits in our living room because the bathroom is so small)--even though I'm fairly sure it hadn't been used since the morning. Nope. No pee sitting out for hours. Not at my house.

Bean did not encourage me to just for the bean and cheese burrito on Saturday afternoon, in spite of Lily's intolerance for dairy. And it wasn't Bean who left the house at 5:50am the next morning for a bottle of Mylicon. We are much smarter than that.

Speaking of Lily, she's bathed quite often, if you were wondering. I do not question on a weekly basis, when she had her last bath, because it's never been long enough that I would forget.

And no, that was not me, waiting for 10+ minutes in the Starbucks drive-thru, while my kiddos and nephew were entertained by the minivan dvd player that I insist I don't use very often. I did not pay for my doctored up caffeine with $3 secretly borrowed from Miss Rose's stash. I would never be that desparate.

I am a very honest and responsible shopper. I did not leave Target with an unpaid item in my 2yr old's lap. It had been a long and successful trip, so instead of risking meltdowns, I did not decide just to bring the tag back later this week and pay for the item. Nope, not me.

I'm quite curteous and would not annoy my followers on Twitter my adding #moonfruit to my tweets in order to win a new Macbook Pro. That would be rude!

I did not win the Celebrity Bump Bag from Modern Mom by submitting their favorite advice for new and expecting moms. I am not anxiously watching for the UPS or FEDEX driver to make a delivery to my house sometime soon.

So, what's not been going on in your house this week? Write your own blog and then link up here.

A Happy 4th in Photos

The one opportunity to dress her like this! It's actually a 0-3 month dress, but worked quite well as a tunic style shirt with her little denim shorts. Such a BIG smile!












Gracie and I getting ready for some fireworks--as seen from a friend's driveway. No fighting crowds or traffic and no loud booms--although Gracie insists that everything is loud these days.








Evidence that Miss Rose had fun. She's in her swim cover-up (she swam 2x) and is covered in dirt and food. Hiding her face from the camera like always. Some things never change.







Gracie enjoying her first fireworks show! Last year she was too young to really understand what was going on. She said they were "big huge" one of her favorite phrases these days. She kept asking where the fireworks went until she went to bed.





Cuddling with Nana aka Nannie during fireworks. Of course they both wanted to be on her lap.










Another of our self-portraits.

Great fun was had by all!

Even the worst, is still the best

Today has been one of those days. And yes, it's only half over.

I started out tired, thanks to 4 days of work and some insomnia on my part, added to a dose of stupid.

The baby hasn't been sleeping so well. Waking up and wanting to nurse back to sleep, although she's been known to sleep 7-8hrs straight many times over. Not lately. She doesn't have her own room yet. We are still under construction. Hopefully by the end of the summer.

She's quite well-fed, as evidenced by the rolls on her legs and the rash in her sweaty neck rolls. When she woke up for the SECOND time last night at a three hour interval, I decided to see if she would go back to sleep. (That my friends, was the dose of stupid).

There was a small amount of bloody murder screaming (during which Bean took his pillow and headed to the couch...I didn't blame him). Then some fussing. Then some quiet. Then more fussing. Then she found her thumb. Then she cried. Then I held the pacifier in. Then I patted her bum and her back. And yet she never settled back in. I can't blame her. I'm right there. She can smell the comfort and she wants it whether she needs it or now. (hmmm, sounds like my issues with sweets)

So I gave in. She's my last baby after all. (In case you were wondering, I detest the phrase "last baby" no matter how true it is and no matter how much peace I feel about it.) All in all, I lost quite a bit of sleep in the process though. Poor Bean did too. And he had to go to work today. Brutal.

Made for one tired mama when Gracie started calling for me this morning--at least it was after 7am though. Miss Rose slept through the yelling somehow. Quickly it was time to go pick my nephew up for a few hours to give his 2wk post-c section mama a break. I think I've JUST decided to nickname my nephews Big Bird and Little Bird on my blog. If you know them, you know why, and you are laughing too!!

Yeah, Gracie isn't doing so well with sharing toys in her own home. It didn't matter what toy Big Bird picked up, she wanted it. And cried and cried. And cried. And cried. And threw fits.

I attempted to Shred but that last a whole FIVE minutes. Baby was done with her nap. Early I might add. Would she sit in the bouncer while I finished a measly twenty minute workout? Nope. She wanted to nurse.

Oh, and did I mention I had pumped an hour prior. I only have a few ounces stored and need to build up a bit more of a stash. So there was no fast letdown for her. And did that ever make her mad. So she cried. And cried. And cried. Finally we worked through it and she found out with a little more work--yes there was still plenty for her.

So let's go outside and play. We have no backyard currently. Under construction (notice the theme here). So we pull the playhouse out of the garage and play in the driveway. It was going well. Then the contractor came. Time to pack up and head inside.

We managed to make it through another hour playing playdough and eating lunch. I took Big Bird home, put my babies down for naps and Miss Rose is playing next door. Ah, finally. Peace and quiet.

Here's the thing. I've been working on my attitude lately. And how I express myself. Was it crazy and hectic? Yes. Did I get to do what I wanted (Shred). No. Sure I could focus on those things. But I CHOOSE to focus on the fact that I'm at home, being a mommy today. I was able to give my sister in law a few hours with just one of her fledglings. I nursed my hungry baby, instead of her getting a bottle. I am the main influence on my children today.

And that is why, even the worst day--(and this wasn't the worst day by any means), is still the best day. Because this is the life God gave me. This is the balance between my job and my home. This is the opportunity to help out a loved one.

It's about my attitude. And how I face the day. I can have a bad day and still love my life and love my kids. I'm learning. I'm being molded and made more into HIS image.

I do suppose at some point, I need to take a shower. Maybe I'll finish Shredding. Or do some housework. No matter what, it's still the best.

I WON! I WON!

As I was laying in bed last night, awake, between the hours of 2:30 and 4:30am, it occured to me that the contest I entered on Modern Mom was over or ending soon. Why was I awake? I don't know. I initially woke up because the baby wanted to nurse. She went back to sleep easily, I did not. Too many things on my mind I guess.

Back to the contest. I checked my email this morning. And lo and behold, there was an email announcing that they had picked MY advice as their favorite and I won the fabulous prize of $1600 worth of baby related items. I was so excited. I immediately shared the news with some of my co-workers and we oo'd and ahhed over the goodies.

I've submitted the necessary paperwork and given them my address. I'm not sure how long it will take for me to receive it--I expect it could be awhile. I'm very excited about the diaper bag, Robeez and Peanut Shell sling. I'll be able to share some of the loot with family members who have recently given birth or are expecting. (Although I will admit the idea of ME being pregnant again to take full advantage of all the items is dreamy...but adding another child to our family would pretty much be insanity. So I'll be content to share with others and live vicariously through them.)

I still can't believe I won! I guess the time and thought I put into my entry paid off. You can read it here.

I'll be sure to take pictures and share my thoughts when the goodies arrive.