Why do we assume the worst?

Last night, after getting Baby J to bed, my husband and I fell asleep with the television on. This is rare – usually he heads downstairs to hop on Second Life, his newest computer addiction.

When Baby J woke up at 1:30, I found myself in bed alone in the dark with the fan on (my husband needs the white noise and air motion while he sleeps – it drives me crazy!). I didn’t see the downstairs light on under the door, so I figured he must have just run down to the bathroom.

I feed Baby J and he still hasn’t come back upstairs, so now I’m getting worried. What if he collapsed? What if he slipped, fell, and knocked himself out? What if he left? (Why I would think this, I don’t know…irrational-middle-of-the-night fears appear from nowhere!)

So I head downstairs and there he is, on the computer, doing what he usually does (only in the dark). He got a good laugh out of how scared I was though…he is secretly an evil villain and not my superhero.

Baby J’s First Trip to the Zoo

Prior to ellaborating on the incredible experience we had at the zoo this weekend during our little heat wave, I must first put up this disclaimer. I didn’t know we were going to the zoo – subsequently, I had no camera. I should restate that, I did have my cell phone camera, but I haven’t figured out the SD card for that yet. As soon as I do, I will put on my own pictures from the zoo (although there aren’t many). The two pictures included in this post are from the Akron Zoo Website.

That being said, Baby J went to the zoo this weekend!  Of course, I went with her, along with Grandma and her cousin, Adrienne.

Adrienne at her First Birthday Party

Now mind you, when you’re five months old and traveling around in a comfy bucket seat, you do one thing VERY well…sleep.  So Baby J slept through a good portion of the visit to the zoo (more specifically, she fell asleep on the way there and didn’t wake up until about halfway through).  However, Adrienne was quite entertained by the trip.  She liked the penguins and was a pro at finding the “kitty cats,” particularly the snow leopard that both her aunt and her grandma could not find (leave it to a sixteen month old).  When we got to the tiger exhibit and he turned and yawned (right on the other side of the glass – less than a foot away), Adrienne was a little surprised to see such big teeth on a kitty cat.

The Akron Zoo is a wonderful zoo.  It’s small and, if it weren’t for the hills, would be a nice little walk – nothing that would wear you out too bad.  Throw in a travel system stroller with a fifteen pound baby, the hills kind of wear you out a little bit … or I’m incredibly out of shape!   The best part about the zoo is that, unlike the Detroit Zoo and National Zoo (the only two other zoos I have been too…well, I have been to Belle Isle as well, but that was MUCH different), there are no huge trenches or gigantic empty spaces or rocks between you and the animals.  There is glass…and then animal.  They are RIGHT there.  When the tiger yawned, we could see the little sticky things that cats have on their tongues (ahh…technical terminology – I love it).  Also, while the National Zoo is free, the Detroit Zoo is most definitely not – and the Akron Zoo is MUCH more economically feasible.  Especially since I have a “Do Downtown” card that gets me BOGO entrance fees and parking was only $2 (and wasn’t a mile away from the zoo).

Now the last thing the Akron Zoo has that was just AMAZING is jelly!  Nope, not the grape or strawberry kind, the fish kind. 

I am excited to say this is when Baby J decided to wake up.  Side note: Baby J LOVES fish!  Her Aunt Jennie has a great big fish tank and Baby J just loves to sit and watch the fish.  So you can imagine how excited Mommy was when Baby J was awake to see the jellyfish.  And did she see them!  Her favorites were the ones that looked like they had running Christmas lights in them (which I couldn’t find a picture of).  My favorite was the ones that had “diamond” something in there names.  I don’t remember exactly.  Either way, Baby J got pulled out of her stroller and carried around the exhibit where she smiled and talked to the jellyfish.  We didn’t do the touch tank because both the babies were just too young for that, but maybe later on.

By the way, here are my favorites:

Okay, that was our zoo experience.

On Top of Butt Mountain!

Yay! We’re back in cloth diapers. I have to say a BIG thank you to Sally! Not only did she lend me all of her cloth diapering supplies, but she has also served as my cloth diaper mentor. So a few days ago when I was having issues with MAJOR leakage as Baby J has started sleeping through the night, I emailed her.

Side note: I had tried double diapering, but it just looked so ridiculous and uncomfortable, I was worried it was going to do something to Baby J.

In her reply back, she assured me that double diapering is totally okay. So I did it…and it worked! I even sort of figured out how to kind of flatten out Mount Butt so Baby J isn’t sleeping with all the blood flowing to her head!

By the way, if you were able to get in and get all the way through to put a vote in for Baby J in the picture contest, I appreciate it. If you didn’t, that’s okay too. I was a little disappointed to find out that the site is really nothing more than a spam site. After entering her, I opened my email box to find sixty new emails advertising this or that. What a terrible thing – to use a person’s love of their child to get their email onto a spam list! Grrr! Thanks to those who voted, to those who tried and gave up, and to those who thought about it! Your well wishes are all appreciated.

I made Baby J’s dress for Thanksgiving. And it really came out very nicely (plus I learned some tips for future dressmaking). So I am hoping to make an adorable little dress for Easter. But, I haven’t bought any of the fabric or anything – so at this point, it is just a thought in my head. I did see some super cute fabric at Joann’s the other day and almost bought it, but restrained myself. Someday I will have millions of dollars to spend on nothing but fabric!

*Good News! Good News! Good News!*

I put on a pair of prepregnancy pants this morning that were on the small side of my closet and they fit! It almost gives me the courage to try on my skinny jeans. I am not going to hold my breath on those though. Maybe this weekend….

The saga of the black leather jackets…

Apparently, I am not supposed to own a black leather jacket…or wear it at least. I have now gone through two in less than two weeks.

The story begins post-pregnancy, when the jacket I had wouldn’t stay buttoned closed thanks to the extra baby weight. A friend of mine at work gave me one of her old jackets – a long black leather (although I think it was fake leather) jacket. In the course of wearing it, I ripped a whole in the middle of the back (don’t ask me how), pulled half of one pocket off (I know how that happened – can we say baby bucket seat?), and, the final blow, ripped the zipper pull right off of it. Superhero said I could use his black leather jacket since I maimed my other one. Now the zipper won’t stay zipped. Blah!

In other news, I have a PartyLite meeting tonight and I am supposed to be getting a HUGE amount of gift certificates. I have some items picked out and I will get to see the new summer line tonight, so that might pick out a few more. Then the rest will wait until the Christmas catalog in August (oooo…I’m so excited!). I will have to show you all what I get.

Baby J is doing great! I love her smiles in the morning – it’s the best way to haul your butt out of bed at 6 am. She has a cold, so she hasn’t been sleeping well (gosh the first winter has been SO fun). She woke up at 5:30am this morning, so we cuddled until 6.

Anyways, I should get to work. What I wouldn’t give to be a stay at home mom.

For Baby J’s College Fund!

I have entered Baby J in a photo contest in which she could win $2,500! Please do me a big favor and CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VOTE. We really appreciate it. Thank you. The picture with the most votes at the end of the month wins…so pass the link on to friends and family. We really appreciate it!

It has been awhile!

Alright, so I have been gone for quite awhile.  Mail has picked up at work and once I’m home, I spend time with Baby J.  She is getting to the point where there is a new thing everyday.  She can pull her hands together and this amazes her.  She is very ticklish, especially on her tummy.  She will laugh, giggle, and squeal when you tickle her little buddha belly and, let me tell you, that is the best sound in the whole world.

Of course, the more amazing she gets, the more I want to be home with her.  Separation anxiety is killing me.  Fortunately, I am still breast feeding and get to pump three times a day at work.  Getting to take that break and do that gives me a little bit of  link to her.  To tell you the truth, even when it is the middle of the night and I am so tired I can’t even stay awake through the feeding, I really enjoy breastfeeding.  It isn’t because of all the great benefits, although those are nice, and not because it is free, although that is a hugeperk.  It is when she is lying there eating and her hand reaches up to grab something and she finds one of my fingers.  Or, when I cough and she stops and gives me this look like I just interupted something very important (she already has ‘tude…lol).  I’m sure you all are probably getting tired of listening to me talk about Baby J…I’ll change the subject.

I have changed somethings around.  I started a specifically craft blog…formam921.wordpress.com…it will be focused on what I am doing for the shop and also the Race for the Cure which I plan on participating in this year.  Hopefully, I will be able to really start picking some production up.  I have lots of ideas and have started mapping them out, so pretty soon, I should be able to figure out my schedule enough to work in some craft time.

The other new news is that I have gotten into freelance writing.  I got my first assignment today.  I am quite excited about it and will be working on research for that.

I don’t know how they do it.

The parents out there who have very ill children – I just don’t know how they do it. Jorja has a cold and has been very congested and coughing the last couple of days. We’ve been doing everything we can and she is getting better, but the last couple of days feeling so helpless has been unbearable. I cannot imagine how it will be when it is something worse than a cold.

In other news, I’m 25 tomorrow. Not really ready for that. My loving 37 year old husband doesn’t want to hear anything about my fear of officially being 1/4 of a century old. Of course, everyone at work is significantly older than me as well, so I have no comiserating parties. It really hit me the other day when I was filling out a questionaire and it asked my age and then listed off age brackets – 19-24, 25-30. I’m in a whole new age bracket! Woah…

This is what it is all about!

I was listening to the radio this morning and was disheartened to hear a conversation concerning the existence of Santa Claus.  I am not a fan of this particular morning show anyways, but this conversation sealed the deal for me.  The host of the show feels that he could not lie to his child and no one else should either; that the myth of Santa Claus is self-serving for the adults in the situation.  He also said everyone remembers when they found out Santa wasn’t real (in the sense that he rides around in a sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer).  Honestly, I cannot say when I found out.  I know how my mother handled it….

She told us Santa did exist.  He may not wear a red suit and fly from rooftop to rooftop, sliding down the chimney to deposit gifts under a tree and eat some cookies.  He exists in the spirit of the season; he exists in your heart…

…and he exists in the eyes of a child.  Let me show you:

She’s two months old; she doesn’t know who Santa is…but the look of awe on her face says it all.  And let me tell you, as Mama standing there taking the pictures, I believed in Santa Claus all over again.  Just in case you aren’t convinced…

This is what it is all about!

Holiday Mail for Heroes

I participated in a swap yesterday that involved sending holiday cards out to an agency that will be forwarding them on to our fighting men and women overseas.  The swap was to send the cards and then write your swap buddy about your experience.  The email I wrote my swap buddy is below.  I thought it would be interesting to share.

I sent out my holiday cards yesterday.  To tell you the truth, I was a little disheartened by this swap.  When I saw it, I was so excited.  I knew I had some leftover handmade cards I could use, so I grabbed the six that were not in packages and brought them to work with me.  I work in a great environment (everyone is very supportive and close-knit) for the local city government, so I figured the people at work would be a shoe-in to sign the cards too.  I thought it would be neat if whoever received my cards opened them to find forty some-odd signatures.  I sent out an email to everyone to let them know what I was doing and that the cards were at my desk to sign.  I couldn’t walk around with them because I didn’t want to disturb people while they were working.  I figured they could take time out of their break to stop by and sign them.

Well, all in all, I had five other people sign them ontop of my signature – so six total.  Six…when there could have been about forty!  I have to say I was a little disappointed in my fellow coworkers.  Of course, the people that did sign them were the people I knew would sign them; one has a nephew in boot camp, another is a police officer’s wife, another traveled the world with her first husband as a military wife. 

However, I was shocked by the fact that so few people signed.  It is amazing to see how much, or how little – as the case may be, individual people will go out of their way to really show their support for the fighting men and women of our country.

Anyways, it did feel good to send the letters along and I hope they brighten somebody’s day.  I also hope that everyone who receives our cards, as well as the rest of the American men and women over there are able to come home safe and sound to their families as soon as possible.  They all deserve a great big holiday hug for what they do…and so much more.

On a side note, if you would like to participate and send a holiday card out to the men and women who fight to give you the freedom to celebrate whatever holiday you celebrate around this time of the year, the information is below:

Please send cards to this address, following the guidelines listed below:

Holiday Mail for Heroes PO Box 5456 Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

Card Guidelines Please follow these guidelines when mailing a card to ensure that your card will quickly reach service members, veterans and their families. Every card received will first be screened for hazardous materials by Pitney Bowes and then reviewed by Red Cross volunteers working in one of 16 sorting stations around the country.

• All cards must be postmarked no later than Wednesday, December 10, 2008. Cards sent after this date will be returned to sender.
• Please ensure that all cards are signed.
• Please use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
• Please send cards as opposed to long letters which delay a quick review process.
• Please do not include email or home addresses on the cards, as the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
• Please do not include inserts of any kind, including photos, as these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
• Participants are encouraged to limit the number of cards they submit to 25 from any one person or 50 from any one class or group. If you are mailing a larger quantity, please bundle the cards and place them in large mailing envelopes. Each card does not need its own envelope.
• All cards received may be used in program publicity efforts, including appearing in broadcast, print or online mediums.
• Phone cards or gift cards will not be accepted with the holiday cards. Those wishing to send calling cards or gift cards/certificates should go to www.aafes.com, scroll down to “AAFES Community Connection” and click on “Help Our Troops Call Home” or “Gift Cards/Certificates for Our Troops” in order to send such items.
• No ‘Care Packages’ will be accepted at this address. Those wishing to send care packages should go to www.AmericaSupportsYou.com and click under “Homefront Groups” to find out how to send care packages.

Tomorrow

Well, this is it.  Tomorrow, I return back to work and take my Baby J to a sitter.  She spent yesterday morning with Superhero while I went to Pittsburgh for a PartyLite activity.  She wouldn’t sleep unless she was being held…which is a major problem that we have been having when Baby J bottlefeeds.  I don’t see the sitter holding her all day, especially since she has three other kids she is watching too.  I know she has dealt with babies before – but I am so worried.  She isn’t very far from work; maybe I’ll head over there at lunchtime. 

I don’t think I am ready for this.  I wonder if Baby J is….