Guest Blogger: Maegan from Chesterrific

August 10, 2011 by · 3 Comments

I am SO happy that Maegan is guest posting over here today! She is one of my closest bloggy friends, and I can’t wait to see her in Chicago in a week! WOOT! She is super stylish, has a really awesome blog, and is just a great person all around.  Her little guy, Chester, is so cute and I hope him and Brayden become friends on our play date.

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I’m so happy to be guesting on Julie’s blog today!  She is one of my favorite everyday reads, I just love her, and guess what?!  I get to meet her next week!  We’re headed to Chicago for vacation and if we can get all our ducks in a row we’ll be having a playdate a week from today.  When Julie asked if I would like to guest for her I was more than happy to accept … but then I couldn’t think of anything to write about.  Total bloggers block for weeks.
And then it came to me, when I was asked for the 3,819th time, “Your son is getting to be the right age to be a big brother, when is baby # 2 going to happen?” ”Well, family member, like I told you the last time you asked me this, we’re ‘One & Done’”.




That’s us … our family unit of 3 is complete.  To my surprise, this actually surprises the majority of people I tell.  I’m always asked, as any new mom is, when is baby #2 going to be here?  Seriously, I was actually asked that question during my sons first week of life!

During pregnancy the unsolicited advice seems free flowing from friends, family, strangers; and post pregnancy those friends, family, strangers start in with “when when when is the next?”  Tell me I’m not the only one who gets this question all the time?

When asked I just smile, give a loving glance at my boy, and reply, “We’re one and done!”  And the conversation then goes something like this:

“WHAT?  No, that’s not possible.”
“Yep, we’re complete and happy.”
“But he needs a brother or sister, he can’t be an only child.  Only children are {lonely} {spoiled} {ill-adjusted} {missing out on childhood, forced to grow up too fast} {insert objectional comment here} ……
“Well, I’m an only child.  I think I turned out okay.”
“Oh, yeah, um …”
… and end conversation.  


Seems like friends / family seem to forget I’m an only child, and strangers just never know what to say next.  And honestly, being an only child, I loved it.  My parents and I are very close, I never wanted a brother or sister.  I’m happy that my husband has 2 sisters, they are awesome and I love calling them my sisters now, but my childhood was magical, I wasn’t forced to grow up too fast, I was never lonely, I don’t think I’m ill-adjusted (to life, love, parenting, relationships, not sure what exactly they’re implying here) … but I will admit that sometimes I was a little spoiled.

And because my son is going to be an only child he’s going to be a little spoiled too.  But guess what, if I had 2 kids or 12 kids, each one of them would be a little bit spoiled … because they’re babies and children and teenagers and they’re figuring out how to grow up and it’s not easy, and because every single child should in fact be spoiled.  A child is a gift from God, a blessing, the most amazing little person in the whole world, and they deserve to be a little spoiled. 

Anyway, I got off topic, started a rant about loving on your children too much (is that possible?!), when I mean to be talking about “why” we are one and done.

When the hubs and I were dating and started talking seriously about our future and marriage and kids, we both said we wanted only one.  Easy peasy there.  And like I said, he has 2 sisters, and they get along fantastically, so his personal family dynamics didn’t play a role in that decision.  I asked him why he wanted one and he said he just never envisioned his life with more than one.  Freaky, because that’s exactly the same about me!  I don’t know if it’s because I am an only, but I never saw my future as a mom of more than one … biological child.

Threw you for a loop?

Yep, we’re one and done when it comes to us procreating.  But if God places the desire in our hearts to have more children, then we’ll adopt.  My mom says she feels a presence of an adopted baby in our future.  So that’s pretty exciting!  But if you ask me today, I don’t see that on our horizon, I’m just not there yet.

I wish I could sum it up with an easy sentence about “why” we are done and calling our little family complete, but there’s really not an easy answer.  So to address all the assumptions that I get from friends / family / strangers … It’s not about money (we’re fine thank you), it’s not about wanting a boy and being unhappy if its a girl, or vice versa (we would love any gender child we were blessed with), it’s not about not having enough love in our hearts for another baby (seriously, lame), it’s not about us being selfish and self-centered adults who don’t want to give our lives up to raise children (um, just look at our boy who is the light and the center of our lives, we have happily given up so much for him, and will do so for as long as we live) …

It’s honestly just about us, as husband and wife and son; Daddy & mommy & baby, feeling so completely blessed and filfulled as a little family of 3, that we are content.  We couldn’t ask for anything more … except maybe another baby when the time is right for us to adopt. :)

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Guest Blogger: Callie Nicole from Through Clouded Glass

August 3, 2011 by · 3 Comments

Today’s guest is my friend Callie from Through Clouded Glass. I have been reading her blog for well over a year and a half now, and I LOVE it. She is wife to Derek and mama to Wyatt, who is the one of the cutest little guys ever! She posts about a lot of interesting topics, which is why she is one of my top reads. You guys should definitely go check out her blog- you won’t be disappointed!

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First of all, thank you Julie for having me! I love reading Julie’s blog, and I am so honored to be doing a guest post for her!

Ever since Julie asked me to do a guest post, I’ve been desperately attempting to come up with something to write about. Nothing was coming to me. I’ve never drawn such a blank when trying to think of a post.

I was thinking about it again one night last week, because my window of opportunity was quickly closing, and I asked my husband what he thought I should write about. He quickly said I should write about lint.

Lint? Obviously he was joking, and he did get a chuckle out of me. But since I’m desperate, I’m taking it and running with it. Except about laundry, not lint.

Laundry and I have a love/hate relationship. I really love doing loads of laundry – throwing clothes in the washer and dryer knowing they will soon be clean makes me happy.

Oh, but once they get out of the dryer, the hating begins. I hate folding laundry. Hate it. If you were to take a picture of my laundry room every day, you would see the “clean” basket gradually getting fuller and fuller, until it’s overflowing, and still I do nothing about it.

I think I secretly just hope that my husband will notice and take over the folding duties – and he sometimes does. But sometimes I just have to buckle down and fold them myself.

Because of this hate for laundry folding, I am torn when coming to a decision about whether to wash something. You know how alot of new moms change their baby’s outfit every time they spit up on themselves? Not in this household. My baby doesn’t get out of the outfit he’s in unless he makes a serious mess in it (if you know what I mean).

But then on the other hand, I’m a bit of a germaphobe. That’s what working in the dental field will do to you. If there’s even a possibility that some spit got on my scrubs, they need to be washed. And they need to be washed separately from the rest of our laundry, because I don’t want to contaminate other clothes with the spitty-ness. I’ve even considered running an empty load between my scrubs and the rest of our laundry, with bleach, just so I can be sure there’s no germs remaining in the washer.

Clearly I have issues.

As I was thinking over all of this laundry stuff, I started considering how this relates to my faith. Do you know that laundry is mentioned in the Bible? Take a look at these verses.

“All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”
Isaiah 64:6

Even when we give our best, our righteous acts are like filthy rags when compared to God’s righteousness.

I’m sure some of you wives and mothers can relate to the “filthy rags” part. Think the rags you use to clean your bathroom, or even better, cloth diapers. Yep.

But there is hope!

“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.”
Isaiah 1:18

When we put our faith In Jesus, he will miraculously take those “filthy rags” and make them “white as snow”, by covering us with His righteousness!

Infinitely better than any laundry detergent. Through Jesus, we have victory!

And my favorite . . .

“The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.”
Revelation 3:5

I love that if we believe in Jesus, when we get to Heaven God will give us white clothes to wear.

Rarely do I dare to wear white, especially with a new baby – something always stains it. But somehow I don’t think it will be possible for our heavenly white clothes to get stained.

I like that.

Something to think about next time you have to fold those clothes.

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Guest Blogger: Katie from Sluiter Nation

July 22, 2011 by · 12 Comments

If you have been around this blog for at least the last year, you have heard of my friend Katie. I love her blog and I seriously think we could be bff’s in real life. No joke.

Her little man just turned two, mine is about to as well, they are both blond headed troublemakers sweethearts, and she has a love for all things handmade just like me! Katie is also one of the bravest people I know, and she honestly shares her struggles with PPD. She and her handsome hubby are trying for baby #2, and I am sending them all the baby dust I can! Read on for a hilarious post about two year old boys…

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First I need to thank Julie for having me here today.  She is a brave soul to ask me to guest post for her and NOT give me a topic.  Generally when people tell me to write them a post with no topic?  I can get…um…random.
But today I think I have a focus.
Julie and I are both moms of boys.  Mine just turned two in June and hers is about to turn two in mere days.
So today I am letting you all in on what I’ve learned about having a two year old. 
(Now that I’ve had one for a whole month, you know I am an expert.  Or something.  Ahem.)
Anyway…the list.
  • He knows more than I thought.  I found this out the other day when he pointed to my chest and said, “boop.”  Um…what?
  •   He can repeat more than I thought.  I thought it was funny when he said “nuts” the other day after I did. But then today he tried to mimic the cat barfing.  Uncool, Eddie.  Uncool.
  • He knows that beer is for daddy and diet coke is for mommy.  In fact when the fridge is open he points at them and says “ma ma…da-ee”. 
  • He has two personalities.  No really.  He is the real Jekyll and Hyde.  One minute he is giving me unsolicited hugs and telling me “uv oo!” (love you), and the very next moment when I do not get him apple juice right away?  Complete and utter meltdown of epic proportions complete with the gnashing of teeth and throwing of toys.
  • He has two speeds:  sleeping and running.  There is no in between.  Ever. 
  • He knows exactly what the toilet is for.  He knows what potty is.  He knows what poop is.  He knows we wipe our buns and wash our hands.  He just won’t do any of it for real. 
  • He has developed very, VERY selective hearing.  In fact, it seems that he has gone deaf to his own name uttered out of ONLY my mouth.  But he can hear the ice cream truck in the next neighborhood over.  Good figure. 
  • He loves his own nudity.  He likes to run nekked as a jay bird whenever given the chance. Apparently being naked is where it’s at when you’re two.  I will not be trying this one though.
  • He will climb anything and jump off anything.  And then get hurt.  Luckily my kisses still heal all boo boo’s. 
  • He will listen, acknowledge, and then go ahead and do what I just said not to do. With a smile on his face, nodding, like I am an idiot.  Why do I feel like this is just a preview of the teen years?

There you have it…the top ten things that I have learned about having a two-year old boy.  I have to say it’s more fun than I ever thought it would be to have a small person living in the house.
What are some of your favorite (or not-so-favorite) phases your kid(s) have gone through?

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Guest Blogger: Kristen from Three in the Nest

July 20, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Next up is Kristen from Three in the Nest. Here is a little bit about her:

I am a wife to one, dog owner to two, and mom to three. My laundry is always piling up, my floors are never crumb free, and the noise level in my house is always high…but I wouldn’t have it any other way (well, I wouldn’t turn down a housekeeper, but you know what I mean). I am completely biased when it comes to the cuteness of my kids, but I take no credit for it, God made and gave them to me this way! I am beyond thrilled to be their mom and am trying to savor every second that I have with them as I can see just how fast time is flying!
Her blog is a new found favorite of mine! The post I have bookmarked is her Homemade Salsa recipe- I can’t wait to try it! Enjoy her post!

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I love being a stay-at-home super mom, but not every day runs smoothly. This past week, we had a doosey of a morning. You know the type: three sippy cups with three different requests for beverages, sticky-pancake fingers all over the kitchen table (and chairs. and floor. and light switches), arguing over who sits where, fighting about what show is shown on the television, whining about who smacked who, etc. Oh, and this was before I even hit the “on” button on the coffee maker or before the clock told me it was seven a.m.

It is summer and preschool is out, so a full day at home with these antics would have driven us all insane, so I quickly decided that a trip to the pool might be just the ticket to soothe the savage beasts. After packing the cooler with pb &j sandwiches, grapes, Pringles (my plan was to stuff as many of these in my mouth as possible while they were swimming…they could eat the grapes. that sounds really selfish. but all is fair in love and precious seldom-bought junk-food) and water bottles I also packed the pool bag with towels, sunscreen, pool toys, water squirters, Barbie dolls, water wings, ring floaties, and goggles. Now, the neighborhood pool is only about a 1/4 mile away, but after having no coffee (or breakfast for that matter) and having to lug this all myself, it sometimes seems much longer. Just when I was settling into feeling like a servant and the typical put-upon Mom who gets no praise or thanks, my middle girl (a super cute and sassy three year old) asks to hold my hand as we walk to the pool. I am a little embarrassed to admit that my first thought was to say, “WHAT HAND? I am carrying everything…the cooler, the toys, the towels”…Luckily, I caught myself before I began that rant. Here my daughter, the entire reason I am a stay at home mom, the entire reason that I put in these tough hours and days, wants to hold MY hand. To connect with me and love me by simply holding my hand. I am so thankful that in a brief moment of clarity, I quickly rearranged the supplies and made room to grab her sweet little fingers.

Sometimes, we all need an adjustment in attitude and to reevaluate our priorities. We are often to busy to see what is important. We are often to frazzled and “in the trenches” to live in these sweet moments. As a three year old, she wants to hold my hand, but before I know it, she’ll be a busy teenager who won’t want to be in the same room with me and I will yearn for these “simple” days.

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Guest Blogger: Elle The Heiress

July 18, 2011 by · 3 Comments

I have been following Lillian on Twitter and reading her blog for a LONG time now. She is one of the funniest people on my Twitter stream! She is a wife and momma to Sebastian, who is 2 and Miss Genevieve (Gigi) who is 5 months old. They are total cuties by the way! She also has an Etsy shop and sells the prettiest cards and jewelry! She is SO crafty, it makes me jealous, so here she is showing us a project that they just completed in their home!

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When we were house shopping, it took us forever to find one that we agreed on. Husby wanted something modern, bland, dull, ugh. I wanted something charming with lots of history and great vintage details. He insisted on a garage, I insisted on a craft room. He wanted a small yard, I wanted a large one. The list goes on and on of things that we each wanted, mostly conflicting. Because our wishes were so different (and our budget was pretty small) it took us a very long time to find our house. Like…4 months and over 100 viewings. While I was pregnant. In the summer. Looking at houses that had been shut up and had no AC. It. Was. Miserable.
But then, one glorious day our realtor called and said, “Hey, there’s an open house going on that I think you should go to.” So we did, and it was love at first sight for me. I’m not even kidding when I say that we I looked at two rooms in the gorgeous 1937 home, then told husby that I wanted him to call our realtor NOW to put in an offer. I did not want this house getting away from me us. Husby eventually gave in (even though the house met virtually none of his needs or wants) and less than a month after Sebastian was born we were first time homeowners!
The details in our house are really charming – from the intricate baseboards & crown molding to the lovely fireplace mantle (which would look better if husby would let me paint it white…but that’s another story) and the absolutely wonderful storm windows with a pulley system to open & close them. LOVE.
Buuuut…with the good comes the bad. In this case, the bad was our bathroom cabinet. I bring into evidence, Photos 1-4. (Please pardon the low quality – lighting isn’t the greatest in the bathroom.) I apologize if you’re scarred for life from the horror that you are about to witness.


Those stains and spots were left by previous owners, and no matter how hard I tried scrubbing at them with every cleaning product imaginable, they would. not. come. off. Ugh! It finally got the best of me last week and I couldn’t stand looking at the ugly inside of the cabinet any longer. Well, actually, I have to stand on the toilet to see the inside of the cabinet, but just knowing that the gunk is in there is enough to drive me crazy.
So, like any impatient good wife, I woke husby up from his Sunday nap with the kids and asked him to help me paint it. He was a pretty good sport for someone who had been bombarded mid-nap and generally hates doing housework anyway. I added two gold stars to his reward chart.
We  He started by touching up some of more unsightly stains with some leftover white paint that we had. I’m not really sure why, but he’s a perfectionist so I just let him do it.


Then he used his magical Frog Tape to tape off the cabinet while I snapped away with my camera, assuring him that I wouldn’t use any bad photos of him (which I don’t, so I get two gold stars for my reward chart, too).


Oh, here’s the really awesome vintage light switch in this bathroom.


After taping off everything, husby got to work on priming the cabinet with gray Krylon stuff. This is when things started to go wrong. You see, the window in our bathroom was painted shut by previous owners so it doesn’t open. Spraypainting + no ventilation = disaster.


While he was priming, I snuck off for some “fresh air” to our bedroom to snap some quick pics of cute little Gigi napping away. Baaaaaby tootsies!


When I ventured back to the bathroom, I could barely see through the gray haze of paint. In this picture husby is fanning the air saying, “What haze?” after I commented on it.


After he finished priming, the entire house started to stink and we ended up having to leave with the kids so that the house could air out and not kill all of their little brain cells (two more gold stars for each of us for being good parents). And then? The laziness set it. We let the cabinet sit like this for days before finishing.


Husby actually finished the project on Thursday evening while I was out with the kids so I didn’t get any in-action photographs of the final coating, but here it is all nice and Pistachio-y.


You like it?
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Guest Blogger: Kristi from Mama of the Fisch

July 15, 2011 by · 3 Comments

Today’s guest blogger is Kristi from Mama of the Fisch. She is momma to Brady, who is 21 months old, and has a baby girl due the first week of September! She lives in Chicago, and grew up about an hour from where I live- in the town I attended college in! She is a high school teacher as well- bless her soul! After being an aid in a grade school, I know that high school students are just not my calling! Here is her take on commuting with a toddler- something that her and Kim have in common!

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The Commute
With a month left of the school year, our beloved nanny up and quit. My first reaction was, “Oh _____.  What now?”  We had options. Try to hire another nanny, ask our out of town parents to step up for a month and babysit or switch to daycare.  We labored over our decision.  We decided the best choice for our family was the daycare at my high school.
I live in the city of Chicago and teach 12 miles north in an affluent suburb. 

My commute used to be “me time”.
In the mornings, I would leave the house around 6:45.  I would choose what to listen to.  Some days it was the news on NPR, other days I would rock out to Taylor Swift and most days I drove in silence.  I would stop daily at my Starbucks, and call my mama each morning to discuss the day ahead.  My car equaled my time.

In the afternoons, I would call my mama for a recap or a friend for some laughs and drive home anticipating seeing my toddler and hearing about his day. I would spend that time in the car, shifting gears from teacher mode to mama mode. My car equaled my time.

It was lovely, really lovely.
Then, on May 16th it came to tragic, sudden end.  My toddler started commuting with me TO AND FROM school. Most of you would say, “Kristi, it was only 12 miles”.  And my response, “Live in the city of Chicago for one week, no one day, drive on our expressways and then tell me about the 12 short miles.” 

You think you know, but you have no idea.
The Sunday night before, I laid out a timeline and a plan for Operation Commute with Toddler.
I didn’t sleep.
The first day the commute didn’t go well. Not the ride there and the ride home was worse.
But, we survived the month and both lived to tell about it.
What I learned in that one short month:
·       My car would now double as a moving convenience store. Teddy Grahams, 100 Calorie Packs Fudge Cookies, Annie Organic Snack Bunnies, Reduced Fat Cheez-Its and Jelly Bellys, when absolutely necessary are on the menu and will be served at 3:45pm sharp.
·       A sippy cup is necessary. It better be cold and full of something other than water or it will either be thrown on the floor or directly at your head.
·       I am a pro at the over the shoulder food toss. Who knew toddlers become starving the minute you put them in the car? Waffles, pop tarts, and breakfast bars have all been chucked from the driver’s seat back to the toddler’s car seat in the morning and when they say “more” they mean it.
·       Never hand your toddler your Starbucks card/MasterCard. They will master rolling the back window down in the drive thru and then throw it out the window, all while you are in line begging for a sip of your beloved caffeinated drink that you once drank in total silence.
·        Get a DVD player. The angels of silence came upon my car the day it was installed. I beg to hear Mickey’s voice when I get in the car and pray the episode doesn’t end before we get home. You can judge me all you want but that DVD player means more than me than anyone will ever know.
The best part, we will add an infant to the mix in a few short months. Maybe we need find a realtor and start thinking about moving? Right now, I am celebrating summer and the fact that I rarely have to commute with my toddler.
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Guest Blogger: Kimberly Michelle

July 13, 2011 by · 3 Comments

I have been reading Kim’s blog for as long as I can remember! I absolutely love this post where she announced her pregnancy, and how they told their families! She is wife to Mr. M and mama to Baby L (who is getting SO big and adorable!) and bleeds gold and blue for UCLA.

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When you’re a working mom, the car becomes a special place between a parent and a child. It’s not just a vehicle to transport you from one place to another, but instead it’s the spot where you say hello and goodbye to your child ten times a week. And because of that, it becomes an extra special place.

It’s a dance party. It’s a sing-a-long. It’s a place to share your secrets. It’s a spot to giggle. It’s where you give eskimo kisses and big giant smooches. It’s a firing range for shoes and any other objects within reach. It’s a crazy crazy place to be.

The second she’s buckled into the car seat she gets a big kiss, going in or going out. It’s an easy place to squeeze some love in… and I make sure I do it every time.

Then there’s the music. Whether it’s bright and early in the morning or late in the afternoon, if Miss L is in the car the radio is tuned to SIRIUS/XM’s Kids Place Live. Even if it’s just for 10 minutes, we sing and boogie along to the music on the radio. And if there’s talking on the radio, then we stop and have a little conversation of our own as we drive along. And if it’s a really annoying song, we switch to On Broadway! where her mom can really go nutso and belt out a tune.

I always asked her questions as we drove along on our short little rides to and from home, but now I get answers.

“Where is our house from here?”

“There!”

“What is over in those fields?”

“Sharaamem” (her word for strawberries)

And the best gift I can give her to show my love is a simple gesture. I open up the sunroof and let the sunshine and wind into the car.

“OUTSIDE!! OUTSIDE!!” she points and squeals with delight. “Outside” is by far her favorite place to be, so bringing it into the car is some sort of magical experience for her, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

And if it’s too hot for “outside” then we just blast the REAR a/c and go crazy!

Now, sure, lots of parents get to experience these things daily without even a second thought, but usually the car is just a way to get to another place. And for many parents, it’s not a fun way to do it. I’m not quite sure that I ever consciously decided to make it more than what it looks to be… but I can tell you that I look forward to our “mini commute to school” each and every day.

I can’t wait until I can trade the car for a walk or bike ride with her to school… then we can both enjoy OUTSIDE and even sing some tunes that maybe others can hear.

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I love this post! So sweet! You can find Kim’s blog here or follow her on Twitter- @kim_michelle. Thanks so much, Kim!

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Guest Blogger- Suzanne at Bebeh Blog

July 6, 2011 by · 6 Comments

Well, summer is officially here as of a couple of weeks ago, and that means that my family’s business will be getting busy anytime now. That means, that my time to write/blog will become limited for awhile, but to fill in the gaps, I asked some of my favorite bloggers to write up some great posts for you all to read! Everybody wins! I hope you enjoy these ladies and their posts!

Summer Feature: Suzanne from Bebeh Blog 

First up is Suzanne from Bebeh Blog.  She is the momma to Evan who is 2, and Caroline who is 6.5 months old. Basically, she is one of my heroes as we venture closer to baby girl’s due date. Her posts always leave my laughing, but mostly I know that as a mother, I am not alone in certain situations! Enjoy!

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My baby is six and a half months old and has never slept in her crib. Here’s the part where you THINK I am going to rave about the benefits of co-sleeping and family beds and how it’s so natural and cozy and easy and blahdy blah blah. Nope.

Caroline sleeps in her swing. She swings all night long on the other side of our bedroom, peaceful and quiet. Sometimes she squawks once or twice to be fed and I shuffle over to my nice comfy chair for a quick nursing session, but then back she goes into her swing and back I go into my gloriously child-free king sized bed. The beauty of the swing is that even if she thinks 2 am is play time I can hand her a teething toy and say PEACE OUT MUNCHKIN and the rocking will eventually but her back to sleep. 

When I had my first baby, Evan, in 2009 I was WOEFULLY unprepared for the exhaustion – although, really, how could you be prepared for only getting 90 minute blocks of rest with 4 hours of walking, rocking, shushing, swaddling and nursing in between for months and months at a time? There’s no job in the world that demanding, because no one would do it for less than a bazillion dollars and a magical unicorn. It took 4 months of sleeping on the couch in shifts before we even made it upstairs, where Evan took one look at the co-sleeper and started screaming like I had just threatened to feed him to rabid badgers. But I KNEW I was SUPPOSED to sleep near my baby (but not WITH my baby) and was determined to follow that advice no matter what (thanks for nothing, pediatrician). Every time I fell asleep with him tucked under my arm I woke up feeling guilty as well as stiff-necked and sore. I was so unsure of my own instincts and decisions I made things harder on all of us. But, hey, that’s what being a first time mom is all about, amirite?

By the time Caroline was born, the only thing I knew was the “right” decision was whatever got me enough sleep to chase a toddler all day. I was willing to co-sleep, bed-share, buy a fancy baby hammock, or blow two grand on an all organic cotton crib mattress made by blind nuns in Tunisia if only the baby would SLEEP. It took exactly two nights home for us to realize she loved the swing. My husband – thrilled to avoid Cranky Tired Wife this time around – moved it up to our bedroom and it’s been there ever since. When we wore out the motor of the first swing, we briefly considered trying to make the transition to the co-sleeper (aka my $150 laundry basket) or the crib (aka my $100 toy storage bin).

Instead, we bought another swing. Why mess with a good thing?

In the end, all that matters is that everyone sleeps, so we can be the cute, happy, fun family I pretend we are on my blog.

If she’s still sleeping in the swing a year from now, THEN we can talk.

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Hilarious, right? 

You can find Suzanne’s blog here, and on Twitter you can follow her- @bebehblog 

I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Filed Under: guest blogger ·

Guest Post: Baby Sign Language

September 2, 2010 by · 1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by Misty about doing a guest post on my blog about Baby Sign Language. She is the chief editor of the Baby Sign Language website, which is overflowing with information! She offered to write a new article for YOU guys, and I hope you will check out the website, even if you never thought about baby sign language before. It really helped me gain some confidence, and I am hoping to try it again with Brayden!

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Baby Sign Language will make your life easier- I promise!

We moms have enough to do. Some days I don’t have time to shower. And on those days, I don’t even have time to care. So one day, when my daughter was only about a month old, and I was elbow deep in dirty diapers and knee deep in postpartum depression, my friend said, “Are you going to teach Gracie Baby Sign Language ?” and I thought about punching my friend in the nose.

Yeah. That’s just what I needed. Another Supermom project.

And that’s about how much thought I gave it. But as the weeks went by, I adjusted to my new life of service, and my baby blues faded into a more tolerable shade of periwinkle.

So I checked a few books out of the library. And guess what? I am so thankful that I did. Teaching my baby to sign did not take extra time, and it made our lives much easier.

My daughter is the weirdest eater I’ve ever met in my life. She can go for two and half days refusing to eat, and then one day at 4 a.m. she decides she’s ready for a small snack. She certainly wasn’t the type of toddler to eat three square meals a day. Despite what our pediatrician told me, my daughter just didn’t want to eat. So thank goodness she could tell me when she did want to eat. We reached the point where I wouldn’t push — I would just wait for her to ask. And she wouldn’t have to wait for me to figure it out – she would just make the sign for eat and I would run (well, usually walk briskly) to the fridge to see what I could do.

When my daughter fell off my bed, and I thought I was having a heart attack, I asked her where it hurt. She made the sign for hurt by her shoulder, which told me the location of her pain. It didn’t help my chest pains, but at least I knew what was going on with her body.

Similarly, when my daughter was teething, she got so wound up that she threw up. I thought she had the flu, but then she made the sign for hurt near her mouth and I wondered … so I got her the teething ring out of the freezer, and she fell asleep while chomping on it.

Signing mothers probably have millions of stories like these. And if you sign with your baby, you will have your own stories, many of which will probably be more exciting than mine. Signing babies can ask for help, they can ask for a drink, they can tell you when they are finished eating, and they can ask you to let them down from their highchair. They can even tell you they want to go to bed – I know, I didn’t believe it either till I saw it!

Communication always makes life easier. Your baby will be happier. You will be happier too. (But I can’t promise that you’ll never have chest pains.)

This guest post is brought to you by Baby Sign Language For Babies . Your one stop resource for all the tips and tricks on Baby Signs.

Filed Under: guest blogger, the second year ·

Not here today!

August 6, 2010 by · 2 Comments

I have a sick kiddo still- woke up burning up this morning and is pretty much attached to my leg at this time- so, you can find me over at Hormonal Imbalances today!

Hopefully I will get some good blogging in this weekend :) Catch you all next week!

Filed Under: guest blogger ·
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