Memory Box

One thing that I wanted to make sure of was to keep special memories from Hazelnut's childhood.  Not every memory, but certain ones that stick out.  I also know my limits, and that creating scrapbook pages by hand every month is just not going to happen. So once a year I make a family photo book (more about that on a future date) in a coffee table style book.  I also keep another photo album with 4x6 prints.  Why?  Because when she's in kindergarten & needs to bring a picture of her as a baby, I don't want to be pulling out external hard drives looking for the pictures, then running to Wal-Mart at midnight to pick up the prints.

I digress.

But some things just can't be stored in a flat album or fit into a 4x6 sleeve.  For those, I have this box.

 

Someone gave it to us for a baby shower gift, and it's been very useful!

I've majorly slacked off on things to put in there after her first birthday.  So many big things happen in that first year-- hospital bracelets, birth announcements, first visit to Santa, birthday cards, cake smash session... the list goes on & on!  I also saved handwritten notes, and the little foam letters you see on the left- H F.  Those were in a gift bag from a breastfeeding group I went to.  They're not really useful, except that they are a vivid reminder of what life was like during those first 10 months of working so hard to nurse.  Looking at those letters brings it all back like a tidal wave.

But one problem--- nothing else fits!  Luckily, one of her birthday gifts this year gave in this cute box.  It's very sturdy & perfect for the job!  

How do you keep track of memories?  Do you put too much pressure on yourself for not doing it enough?  I seriously love the memory box because it's so low pressure.  Just toss the memory in & you're done!

I also have one full of love notes & cards from when Josh & I were dating.  We should have kept it up through marriage but life got a bit busy.  I love looking back on those notes!

Love who you are.

Comparison is the thief of joy. -Theodore Roosevelt

There are a lot of contradicting messages out there to soak in.  Pinterest is full of amazing decorations, parties, lunches, etc.  There are countless blog posts from moms practically bragging that they don't have it all together... that their house is messy & their kids ate Doritos for dinner.  And don't even get me started on parenting tirades covering everything from infant sleep to breastfeeding to discipline.

Here's the thing.  I'm definitely not an 'everyone gets a trophy' type of person, but sometimes, that's just the way it is. This world needs all types, so please, find your type & go with it!

Love who you are.

And instead of cutting someone else down or making it seem uncool... appreciate it.  Appreciate them.  Celebrate whatever it is.

If you are great at decorating, awesome.  Please always take pictures & post them on Pinterest!  Yes, be a show off.  Be proud of yourself.  And the rest of us need to cheer you on.

Is you house constantly messy?  Are you okay with it?  If so, then embrace it.  Don't skip over posting a cute picture of your kid because the background is messy.  Your kid is cute, so celebrate it.  And the rest of us need to celebrate it, too.

Is your kid not sleeping?  Sure-- search the interwebs for some ideas!  But also, remember that every kid is different.  I found a method that worked absolutely wonderful for my kid and yes, I would highly suggest you use it for yours.  But you may choose another route & that's okay.  It's the beauty of having your own kid-- you get to craft him/her into a tiny human that you like.

I could go on & on.  Every mom could.  It's a constant barrage of messages we're met with each day. 

So I'm working to do my part & I hope you do, too!  What's your part, you ask?

Each time I feel myself thinking too much about something, I think of a way to celebrate it. 

Does someone's Facebook post bother you?  Find a way to celebrate.  See a friend who just had a baby & looks amazing?  (WAY more amazing than you ever did after having a baby?)  Celebrate it.  Share in her joy.  Really truly celebrate.

Comparison is the thief of joy because there is no comparison.  We're just not all the same.  You can't compare yourself to an 18 year old version of you, or a 34 year old version of anyone else.

Love who you are.

Celebrate others.

Rattlesnake tail, coyote tail, and all sorts of other vacation fun!

I haven't updated on our family in awhile.  We've been on vacation this week so here are a few things that we've been up to:

Finding ridiculous posters.  Please notice that the green cup is for the 'girl with hangover.'  I can't even...

 
Happy baby girl.

My man working hard.  Yes, even on vacation.  If there's something that needs to be done, he's going to do it.  I love that about him.  He values family time, but also doesn't expect things to just be given to him.

And we have quite an assortment of photos like this: 

 

Then we have four little monkeys jumping on the bed.

And two little monkeys not willing to share their Paw.

And this.  Sorry it's so dark, but it's pretty awesome.  This is my parents living room on any given day.  This wasn't a family reunion.  No one was invited.  It was just my siblings picking up their kids at the end of the day.  One sibling & his wife is missing, as well as Josh.  The best times are when everyone is up here, crammed in one room.  There are actually 11 people in this photo.

Doing a little work isn't so bad on vacation when this is your view!

 Three little monkeys jumping on the bed this time!  Notice the little chairs.  They brought them from the living room into this bedroom so they could climb on the bed.  All three are within 6 weeks of each other age-wise.

Love this crazy kid.

Totally not scared of anything.

Swinging with mommy!

 And mommy taught her to swing like this, too. She was a fan!

Then we went to Paw's office & he had lots of fun toys to play with.  Rattlesnake!

Sweet baby playing the ukelele!

Playing with a coyote tail.

Drinking Paw's homemade apple cider!

Not at all willing to give this saw up.

And we finished it off with a little harmonica tune.  In which she hummed into the harmonica.  :)

Then Paw took her to town & bought her a necklace!

Oh Pinterest!

We have a good sized apartment, but the kitchen is tiny.  Teeny tiny.  Like, we're in a 3 bedroom & it's about half the size of the kitchen we had in a one bedroom.  And what our friends think is a pantry next to our kitchen is actually a laundry area.  Most of our kitchen appliances are in our hall closet, and some of the food items are stored above our washing machine!

I. hate. that.  How gross?  I keep it to items that are well packaged, but still.

So last night I saw a pin on Pinterest & it got me to thinking.  It suggested using an old armoire as a pantry.  And that's when it hit me... we have a china cabinet that we don't even use!  It's just sitting in the dining room, abandoned from when we decided to start painting it 3 years ago (I didn't get very far at all).

And after moving this last time, I refused to unpack the China again until we buy a house.  That leaves a bunch of awkward pictures in our cabinet & my Willow Tree items that have to be kept away from Hazelnut.

Here's the before & after:

Much better, right?  Obviously, with the glass doors, using it as a pantry is out of the question, but our plates, cups & bowls fit perfectly in there!  And now we have an entire 2nd cabinet in our kitchen dedicated to... food!  No more storing food above the washing machine.

And I now have extra storage room in the laundry area!

I think I'm going to clean out the bottom shelves (not pictured above) & make it a kid-friendly area.  Currently I'm storing baby bottles & candles in there.  The bottles have to go, & I'll find another place for the candles.  The knobs on the doors are very widely spaced, so there are a few extra steps to baby-proofing it.  I'd rather just skip that & let her enjoy the area!

Easy Hair Bow Solution

Hair bows all over the house quickly became a problem for us, so I set out to make a solution.  I bought this frame from Goodwill for a few bucks & used some paint I had on hand.  I've seen things like this around & they seemed easy enough... and it was!

Then I attached some cute ribbons & voila-- done!

It was seriously one of the easiest projects I've ever done.  And it's great!  I suggest getting a large frame, as we filled it up almost instantly.  You can also attach hooks to the bottom for hair rubber bands & such to hang off of.

I would suggest using nails to attach the ribbons.  I didn't have any, so I used thumb tacks & they worked fine.  

Dear New Mama: It Gets Better

When Hazelnut was a few weeks old I remember thinking, "Wow, it got better."  Things weren't awesome, but I finally got a bit of a handle on this whole 'raising a baby' thing.  I remember thinking, "I need to tell every new mama this!  I can't believe it actually got better!"

So to the new mamas out there... don't worry... it gets better.

I've made a point to say that to all the new mamas about a week or so after their child is born.  When we chat & I can hear the weariness in her voice... that's when I make sure to say, "It gets better."

The sigh of relief I hear afterwards.  The "oh my goodness... thank the good Lord..." sigh.

It gets better.

And sixteen months in?  It just keeps getting better!  At first, you're just getting to a survival state.  But after that... you soar!  Yeah, it keeps getting tougher, too.  But the good keeps getting better.

You see, you're tired & totally worn out now.  But soon, he'll be rolling over.  And then crawling.  And then that glorious day when he grabs onto your leg and doesn't let go.  Man, that's a great feeling!

Yes, it gets better.  :)

Survival. What I really felt the first 10 months of motherhood.

Sixteen months.  That's how old Hazelnut is now.  Looking back, I can't believe I lived through those first 10 months!  In a lot of ways, it was easy.  We bonded well & she got into a great schedule that worked really well for her.  She's generally a happy kid & is completely adorable.  No major sickness, either, which is huge!

But then on the other hand, it was really tough.  Mommy guilt was (and still is!) awful.  Terrible.  I tried to keep it at bay, but it was really hard.  Guilt that I couldn't get her to nurse.  Guilt that I didn't make enough milk.  Guilt that I couldn't hold her because I was pumping.  Guilt that I was playing online while pumping instead of looking at her.  Guilt that she had formula.  Guilt that I just wasn't sure what formula was best & hadn't done enough research to make a well-informed decision.  Guilt that I watched my favorite TV show instead of playing with her.  Guilt that it felt nice when she went down for a nap.  Guilt that I didn't have a 5 course meal prepared for her after her nap.

You get the idea.

It wasn't rational guilt.  It was all really high-strung emotions.  I was an emotional wreck for 10 months straight.  I remember driving in the car more than once & thinking "I shouldn't be driving right now.  I'm not in a good mental state."

My head was in a fog for 10 months straight.  I'm not really sure what it was.  I wasn't sad or depressed.  I had a great bond with Hazelnut, and I felt very loved & surrounded with support.  Overwhelming amounts of support from friends & family!  And Hazelnut slept through the night, so it wasn't from a lack of sleep.  I was just in a constant fog.  I couldn't think clearly.  I was just going through the motions of life.  Just trying to get through & make it until the next day without totally falling apart.

I also didn't lose any baby weight during this time.  I felt gross & fat all the time.  Constantly on the verge of tears.  I had friends that quickly lost all their weight, breastfed easily, and went on about their lives.  I felt like I'd just left the hospital.

I'd planned to take one month for maternity leave.  After a week I called my boss in tears & asked for an extra month, which she quickly agreed to, thankfully.

At 3 months I remember thinking, "I shouldn't still be in a fog."

At 6 months I started to feel it lift a little.  I started to feel just a little bit like myself again.  Just a glimpse.

At 10 months I finally threw in the towel with nursing.  I'd made it so far, fighting tooth & nail for every single ounce.  I felt far more overwhelmed than I did the night we brought Hazelnut home.  I just couldn't do it anymore.

And then it started to lift.  Little by little, the fog started to clear.  It still took months.  And crazy enough, I'm just now really feeling like myself.  She's sixteen months old!

Honestly, I've never heard of anyone else dealing with this, but I'm sure I'm not the first one.  So mama... if this is you, hang in there.  It does get better.  The fog will lift one day.

I still haven't lost all the weight... I'm 17 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight.  And writing all this down really brought back a flood of emotions.  But I survived.  I'm here.  And the fog is lifting.

When a Parent is Sick.

I read this article yesterday about moms & being sick.  We totally dealt with this last week in our house!  

My husband was sick.  I was about to head to work.  So here were our choices:

A) Husband stays home, Hazelnut goes to the sitter, I go to work.

B) Husband stays home, Hazelnut stays home, I go to work.

Seems like not a big deal, but the thing is, if I were to be sick, it wouldn't be a question-- Hazelnut wouldn't go to the sitter.

You see, I work part time outside of the home, so she goes to the sitter during my work hours.  So it feels like we get a sitter "for while I'm at work."

When we realized the contradiction we were facing, my husband just decided to go to work.

Ha!

Seriously... going to work feeling awful was preferable to making that type of decision.

I have to say, I have quite the amazing husband.  He's not one of those wimpy guys that holes up when he has a cough.

And truthfully, I'm glad he decided to go to work-- I didn't want to make the decision either!

What do you do when a kid is sick?