Summer is in Full Swing

Seems like most of my posts lately begin with some sort of explanation for why I haven't been posting. This time, rather than make excuses, I'll just post a few pics of what we've been doing around here.

We went to the park with Daddy, which we really need to do more often. Little Bit spent much of the time flashing her Pull-Ups to everyone while hanging on this bar. Hanging is her new favorite thing. She hangs on EVERYTHING: the kitchen table, Bitty Baby's Jumparoo, the handle for the oven door. If she can wrap her hands around it, you can be pretty sure that very soon her knees will be pulled up to her tummy and she'll be dangling in full delight.

She actually doesn't like looking at the camera, so sweet little shots like this are few and far between. Such a shame.

Bitty Baby spent most of her time on the infant swing before deciding to hang out with me. I was sitting on a bench in the shade complaining about the heat. I wasn't dressed for the park because we were supposed to be going to a museum...with air conditioning...but that's a story for another time.

While we sat watching Little Bit play, this way-to-friendly squirrel came by for a visit. I was slightly paranoid that he would jump off of the tree and climb all over me, so I tried shooing him away. At which point he moved back up the tree a few feet and proceeded to tell me where I could go. I swear he was totally cursing me out.

A few days later we were invited to a horse show close to our house to watch my aunt show her baby...horse that is. We all had a great time.

Bitty Baby sat on her first real horse...

and Grandma helped Little Bit show off her latest freezer paper stenciled shirt.

We even got some behind the scenes action before it was my aunt's turn to ride.

I would say that fun was had by all, but these two tweens, my nieces, were pretty bored until they were given a "job" to do.

Ask a kid to take some shots and they suddenly perk right up!

Another Hiatus

I know, my presence here has been sporadic. Here's what's been going on...

I have a new friend. Her name is Helen.

Is it strange to name a sewing machine? For some reason I had her named before I even had her in my car when leaving Joann's.

I just got her yesterday and prior to that I had spent most of my down time researching machines and visiting sewing shops. I finally decided on Helen (a Husqvarna Emerald 116) because she seemed like a good little machine for a newbie. She's not as fancy as many of the machines out there, but she seems pretty durable and she's nice and quiet...I think we're going to get along famously!

For my first project, I sewed a pint sized headband for Little Bit following these instructions. I'm not showing a picture yet because it was my "practice run." But I promise I'll show you a final version soon!

Another new addition to our family is this little guy:

He came free with Daddy-O's new MacBook and was my prize for letting him buy it. Of course my response to this was, "What am I going to do with that?"

Hah!

There's a ton of stuff I can do with it! I added our photos from Little Bit's birthday party to show my mom. I can keep it with me throughout the day and check my Google Reader and Email without having to leave the kiddos and go to my computer. And, I can download podcasts!

Yes, I said podcasts. Another thing I raised my eyebrow at when I first heard about them. But here I am, listening to CraftSanity, Grammar Girl, Material Mama, and Broadway Bullet.

Podcasts are wonderful to listening to while working on a project. In fact, I wish I'd had the Touch earlier so that I could listen to my podcasts while making new hair clips for the girls. Well, I say the girls, but in reality Bitty Baby is the only one who wears them without immediately pulling them out.

Aside from the aforementioned activities, projects with the little ones have been few and far between. Due to an unexpected chain of events, Daddy-O has been home all week and will be around for a couple more. With him being home, we tend to fill our days with either running errands or simply enjoying family time together.

I did manage to squeeze in a mixed media collage today with Little Bit and her cousins, but I ended up joining in rather than taking pictures! I'll see if I can paint you a picture with words: fabric scraps, yarn, glue, old children's books, buttons, and glitter. Lots of glitter.

I'll probably spend the next few nights getting better acquainted with Helen, but I can't wait to come back and show you what I made. Hopefully I'll end up with something blogworthy!

Comments Disabled

I'm doing a bit of an experiment for myself and this blog. It has occurred to me recently that every couple weeks or so I start feeling totally burned out on the whole blogging thing. Here's how it usually goes:

Oh, this was a good post! Lots of comments! People like me!

Oops, what happened? Nobody commented today. What did I do wrong?

Oh, goody! Some more comments on this one!

Look. Some new people commenting! I wonder who they are? I'll go check out their blog, too!

Oh, no. Where did everybody go? Nobody likes me. This sucks.

The comments turn blogging into a complete roller coaster ride. And I know, for a lot of people, the comments are where it's at. It's where most of their blogging satisfaction comes from. But for some reason, for me, I think the comments are draining. Not only do I get my panties all bunched up over how many comments I got on a particular post, but then I want to go around and comment back on everybody's blogs. And if I just don't have time to get to everybody's (because I take care of a baby and a toddler who rarely take naps at the same time and who both demand 100% of my attention all through the day), then I get my panties all bunched up over that, too.

So, you see. Much of my blogging woes have to do with the comments. And since that's the case, I'm going to experiment with disabling comments for a while and see how that affects my approach to blogging. If anybody still wants to get a hold of me, you can shoot me an email. It's on the left sidebar under "About."

I'll still visit everyone and try to leave comments as I am able. It might not be as often, but be sure that I am reading. :) Let's see how it goes!

Bloggy Business: Meme of Fives and an Award

First of all, I was tagged by Maureen, Toddler Mom, for the Meme of Fives.

How it works:
1. Post the rules of the game at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read the player's blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

What were you doing five years ago?
I had just completed my Master's Degree and was searching, and searching, and searching, for a job I didn't want in a career that I had no interest in pursuing.

What are five things on your to-do list for today?
1. Clean house (perpetually on my list)
2. Sew some felt
3. Upload the day's photos
4. Post to my blog
5. Try to maintain my sanity

What are five snacks you enjoy?
(Lately it's been:)
1. Yogurt
2. Granola
(before it was:)
3. Ice cream
4. cookies
5. frosting

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1. Hire someone to clean my house.
2. Travel extensively.
3. Hire a private instructor to teach me to sing and dance like a Broadway star.
4. Take classes...all kinds.
5. Blog about being a billionaire.
(These are all completely self-centered. I'm sure I would do a ton of philanthropic stuff, too.)

What are five of your bad habits?
(all of my habits are disgusting...fair warning)
1. Picking my ears
2. Picking my nose
3. Scratching my head
4. Plucking my chin hairs with my fingernails, especially while driving
5. I think four bad habits is more than enough

What are five places where you have lived?
1. Florida
2. North Carolina
3. Missouri
4. Virginia
5. Germany
(The first four were in the last 5 years or so, the last one was when I was a kid)

What are five jobs you've had?
(in no particular order)
1. Card stuffer (Hallmark)
2. Graduate TA
3. Shallow water life guard
4. Exceptional Student Teacher's Aid (one-on-one)
5. Compensation Analyst

Five people I tag:
1. Somebody who can't think of anything to write about.
2. Somebody who has something in common with me based on my answers.
3. Somebody who has never been tagged and would like to be.
4. Somebody who cares for at least one toddler on a daily basis.
5. Somebody who puffy hearts Memes.

And...I was awarded an award! My first bloggy award!

I have the marvelous CC from If I Only Had Super Powers to thank for my award. Thank you, CC! My gratitude overfloweth.

I am passing this award on to:

My Sweet Life because Kelsey is going to help me improve my picture taking skills. She is a very talented lady who not only takes inspiring photos with touching and humorous stories, but also gives great photography tips on Fridays.

Bits and Pieces because Jenny is a lovely gal who openly shares her home and family in a way that makes you feel like you've been pals forever.

Here you go ladies....this is for you!

Peaceful Slumber

I managed to capture this photo shortly after my last post of Little Bit's first time sleeping in her twin bed by herself, which, by the way, was just a nap. I realized later that I didn't make that clear. We're going to give her week of naps in the bed and then decide if we want to let her go all night.

She ended up sleeping with her head at the wrong end of the bed. I guess the bed rails we put up at the head of the bed were pretty useless. I checked on her periodically throughout her 2 and a half hour nap and she stayed in pretty much the same position the whole time.

Sound asleep.

My Toddler, The Poet

"Oh me, oh my. Not a thing goes by."

With the wisdom of an eighty year old woman in her voice, Little Bit has been repeating this line since yesterday at dinner.

We have no idea where it came from.

We have no idea what it means.

Now, don't get me wrong. I believe my little girl to be as precocious and brilliant as can be, but could she really have made up this little rhyme?

"Oh me, oh my. Not a thing goes by."

She says it with such conviction.

It's quite funny to hear. She may as well be sitting in a rocker, sporting glasses and a hearing aid, talking about the good old days.

"Oh me, oh my. Not a thing goes by."

And I can't decide whether or not it makes no sense at all, or makes absolute perfect sense. Apparently there's a fine line between nonsense and genius.

For now, I'll stick with the latter...but I reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow when she's pouring her milk onto her PB&J.

Family Portrait

I've always preferred candid photos over posed. I love the reality that is depicted and the stories they tell. This picture in particular has always resonated with me.

We've stopped for a photo in front of the Washington Monument and nobody can look up because the sun is so bright. My mom is holding us closely and smiling as though all is perfect. A real smile. You can tell just by looking at her eyes.

That's the thing about my mom, she was always happiest just being a mom. She also happened to be a single mom serving in the military. We moved around, saw husbands come and go, but my mother's love swaddled and protected us from the harsh realities of her world.

We were such a happy little family that my brother and I never really knew things were supposed to be different.

Somehow my mom managed to carry out all of her roles in such a way that we never felt deprived of anything.

That's what I see when I look at this old picture. No, life was never perfect, but we were blinded by our happiness to that fact. We had each other, and we had a mother who was strong, confident, nurturing, and completely selfless.

About 10 years ago I framed this photo and gave it to my mom for Mother's Day. She thanked me and was happy to have received it, but she was puzzled as to why I chose this particular picture. Our albums were filled with better pictures of the three of us...professional portraits with us all actually looking at the camera. My explanation at the time was something along the lines of, "I don't know, I just always liked this one."

Well, Mom, only a decade later and you finally have a more complete explanation as to why this image of our family is so meaningful to me. Consider it the second half of the gift. :)

Is it Over Yet?

Grandpa's funeral is Friday.

Daddy-O will probably be released from the hospital by then. Appendectomy.

Finally got some sleep last night, but didn't get to read any of the wonderful blogs I enjoy visiting everyday.

Will somebody please come over and watch my babies?

I'll be back soon.

Flattery? Or Blatant Disrespect for Copyright?

So, what do you do when you find out somebody out there in Bloggy Land decided to copy an ENTIRE post off your blog; links, pictures, and all?

No credit.

No links back.

Absolutely no mention of your original post.

I have no idea either. The blog-keeper doesn't provide an Email address, so I left a comment requesting that they credit the "auther." Apparently I was in such a rage that my nostrils were flaring and I couldn't see what I was typing. So now I have this idiotic comment hanging around some plagiarizing blogger's site saying, "Hey, look at me. I'm the moron who wrote this to begin with and I want you to know it."

Yes, it is nice to know that someone had an interest in what I wrote. But I need props. I need recognition. I need a link back to my original post and ToddleBits displayed prominently either before or after the text.

So, Mr. or Mrs. Plagiarizing Blogger, if you're reading this, you should know that if you don't credit my work I will probably....do nothing- because I avoid confrontations like I avoid eating shrimp and chocolate during the same meal. But you can be sure that I think what you did is very, very wrong.

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Seven Random Things

I've received my first tag from Jenny at Bits and Pieces to share seven random nuggets of information about myself. I'm a newbie at this, so bear with me!

Here are the rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share seven facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here is some very useless information about myself:

1. I am a disaster when it comes to keeping things neat/tidy/organized. I've lived in this house since October and have yet to dust- anything. I've mopped 3 times. I come to terms with this when I think of the reputation that really smart people have of being messy; like a scatterbrained professor. That's what I am. I'm a scatterbrained stay-at-home-mom. I've got too much going on inside this smart brain of mine to keep up with tedious things like sweeping. This makes me feel better about my unkempt home.

2. I'm in the process of coining a new term: "Laptop Coupling." It's what Daddy-O and I do (or did when I actually had reasonable battery life on my laptop) once we've gotten the kids in bed and we're ready to spend quality time together. We sit next to each other on the couch with our respective laptops and tell each other about what we're doing. We share funny You Tube videos. Sometimes we will look at each other's screens and sometimes we will just IM the links. One time we played Scrabble online like this. But we were in bed, not on the couch. I'm telling you about this new term so that you can start using it, and if you hear someone else use in in a few months, you will know it came from here.

3. Since I'm talking about words, I will tell you that my least favorite words are "interim," "plethora," and "random." These are words that have been overused by either the general public or people very close to me, and I would be extremely happy if I never heard any of these words again. I will put aside my disdain for "random" for this post ONLY!

4. My dog is whining to go outside but I am putting it off because this is my free time and I don't like it to be interrupted.

5. I used to be a very big animal person...before I started making babies. I've had dogs, a horse, cats, rabbits, a snake (very briefly), birds, guinea pigs , and a little green tree frog. Actually, the frog lived in my shower and I would talk to him while washing, so I consider him a pet.

6. I just shared with Daddy-O that I am on number 6. I said, "Woo Hoo! I'm getting there!" He thought I said, "Woo Hoo! I'm beating you!" It was funny for both of us (because we aren't racing) and a nice moment of sharing. This is all part of Laptop Coupling, even though I'm not sitting right next to him.

7. I'm collecting garbage because I have this idea that I'm going green and that I'm a crafty person. Neither of which is really true. So I have a growing collection of garbage that I will one day use for crafts. But probably not. It will probably still end up in a landfill somewhere because I am neither green nor crafty.

Now, here are seven happenin' folks who can either play along or not. But these are fun, so you should totally do it!

1. Seeking Imperfection
2. Music Mom of 2
3. Mudpies to Dragonflies
4. What Works for Us
5. Springtree Road
6. This Recycled Life
7. If I Only Had Super Powers

If you want to play, just jump right in! Leave a comment and I'll come over to your place!

Edited (4/17/08): And one more for good measure...Jennifer!

A Day in Pictures

 

 

A Glimpse

My brother's daughters were in town last week during their Spring Break. They're 10 and 11, respectively. Smart. Beautiful. All grown up, but still so young. Tweens. Now they're all about, "This guy I like," and, "That's for little kids."

I always love seeing them, but this time was different. Now, I have two of my own and I can draw so many parallels between my nieces and my daughters. Their age differences, their personality types, even their physical attributes.

Every time one would talk about a particular crush, I would immediately imagine myself having the same conversation with one of my own girls. And then wonder..."Why am I having this conversation with such a young girl?" And then hope..."Surely, mine will be older when this happens."

Subsequently, I would start to think about what my nieces would have in store for themselves over the next few years. Middle school, high school. Ugh. I don't want them get older and lose any more of their sweet innocence. I don't want them to see the things that I know they will see. I don't want them to feel the things that I know they will feel. I don't want them to grow up any more than they already have.

The irony is that I spend much of my day thinking about how much nicer things will be when my girls are older and more autonomous. I selfishly long for the days when I won't have to sacrifice sleep for personal time, and I dream of a more simplified existence that doesn't revolve around nap-times and snack-times and bed-times.

Spending time with my nieces this past week has opened my eyes about what is to come for my own daughters. As cliche as it is, they really do grow up fast. I need not rush the precious childhoods that lay before me, as I know the time will come and go in front of my eyes and before I know it my little babies will be big girls.

*Sigh*

 

 

Good Lord, What Happened?

We're going to the beach this weekend...Yay!

We're visiting family with a swimming pool....Woohoo!

I get to buy a new swimsuit....Rrrreeeehh (it's the sound of record needle being abruptly taken off of the record while in play...work with me).

Little Bit was born in June, almost two years ago. We never went swimming that summer since she was just a tiny newborn. Last summer I was about halfway through my pregnancy with Bitty Baby and was sporting a cute little preggo belly. I was curvy, but in a good way.

Here I am last summer on a babymoon with Daddy-O.

 

This is me about a month before Little Bit (BB #1) was conceived.

 

Here I am preparing to paint rocks last week, 5 months after the birth of Bitty Baby (BB #2).

So, this is my first summer bearing my new skin. It's skin that has been through two pregnancies back-to-back. Skin that has been stretched past it's limits from having 8 and 9 pounders on a petite 5'2" frame. And I'm just not prepared.

I don't know what I thought would happen, but it wasn't this.

I remember seeing the I Heart My Body challenge here, and later here, and thinking about how cathartic it must be to just stand tall and bare it all. I commend all of you ladies who posted photos of your beloved body parts.

Alas, I am a coward, so I will resort to using representations.

This sad, partially deflated balloon is pretty close to what you'll find underneath the myriad of baggy shirts I am now compelled to wear.

As for this weekend of fun in the sun...I bought an ill-fitting, hot-pink, paisley one-piece from Wal-Mart yesterday. It was the best they had. I tried it on this evening. It preempted this post.

And so it is.

I have a new body, a new bathing suit, and two babies.

Perspective always helps.

And....We're Back!

I hope everybody had a wonderful Easter!  Ours was very full between church and visiting lots of family.

I spent some time last night trying to go through and look everyone's blogs to see if I missed anything. It looks like a lot of people were sick or went on vacation. We had some sick time here, too (but unfortunately no vacation).

 

And, here we go. In a nutshell, here are some things that I probably would have blogged about:

Daddy-O left his posh traveling gig for one a little closer to home (only a 55 mile commute each way). At least he'll be home every night, though! Yay!

I bought my first mei-tai baby carrier from this EBay seller. Her work is beautiful and very well priced compared with others. But, after wearing it a few times I went back to my tried-and-true pouch sling. You just can't beat the convenience that a pouch sling offers and I'm all about convenience!

I started decorating the nursery...finally! My goal is to completed before my girls start voicing their own opinions. I can't wait to post some pictures! It's very girly. Pinks and blues and florally stuff everywhere. I think it will be my favorite room in the house!

I've spent a lot of time perusing Etsy. Can't get enough of it. I think I might start highlighting some of the sellers here every now and then. Ok...since I mentioned it. Here's a little something that makes me smile:

The seller's name is Cotton Bird Designs. If I had an extra $40 laying around I think I would like to perch him somewhere in nursery so he can sing sweet lullabies to my babies.

We have continued potty-training Little Bit. But we seem to be caught some where between trained and not trained. I'll post a more comprehensive update soon.

So we're all caught up...now let's have a bloggaly blogging good time!

A Milestone, a Reflection, and an Announcement

The Milestone

This is my 50th post! I started this blog in December and the ball has finally started to roll. I'm beginning to make some bloggy friends, which makes me very happy, and I've actually been getting comments somewhat regularly. I've also been fleshing out my blogroll, so be sure to take a peak at the right sidebar and check out anybody you don't already know!

When I began blogging, I never would have imagined how much fun and how time consuming it would be, nor how addictive it is! But I have really been loving the time I spend spilling my thoughts out and reading what others have to say.

The Reflection

Today we finally found a new church home. We've been in this town since October and I've really missed hearing God's word and enjoying fellowship with others. Oh, it was so nice!

It's perfect timing too, considering we're just entering the Lenten season. This is supposed to be a time of focus and sacrifice, remembering the ultimate sacrifice that Christ made for us.

I've been really stumped about what I should give up for Lent this year. When you consider that Christ gave up His life for us, everything else just sorta pales in comparison. So, I've been trying to think of something that would really hit me hard.

Hmmmm...

Something that is such a huge part of my life that it's absence would leave a gaping hole.

Hmmmm...

Something that has captured so much of my attention that it has left little time for the things that really matter (my home, my husband, my faith).

Hmmmm...

The Announcement

If you haven't guessed it already, I've decided to give up blogging for Lent. I know, I'm a few days late, but for some reason it took a good sermon at church today for the obvious to finally hit me.

Even as I'm typing this, I've been having second thoughts: Isn't there something else I could give up? What if nobody remembers me when I come back? Will it be like starting over again? Do I have to? Which just serves as confirmation to me that I probably am making the right decision.

Oh, blogosphere, I will miss you. I'm sure I will think of you often, but I will be back come Easter.

Ahhhh.

I can't do it!

Ok.

Publish.

Back on Track

The other day I was ready to put in my notice. Babies were crying, Mommy was tired, and nobody was happy. Then, the next thing you know it's a brand new day, and everything is wonderful again. Babies played and Mommy got a much needed reminder of all of the beauty and joy that two little girls bring into her life.

 

Lazy Mom's Blog

I think maybe this would have been a more fitting title for my blog. Sometimes I surprise myself with how little inertia I can possess at times.

Like this evening, I was preparing a Stouffer's Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Bake (because I'm too lazy to cook) which involves cutting a slit in the top. So, I see a handy pair of finger nail clippers sitting on the counter (because I was too lazy to put them away) and I think, "Close. Sharp. Good." (because I'm too lazy to reach for something further away).

However, I quickly realize how incredibly inappropriate it would be to cut the packaging of a frozen entree that is being made for my family with a pair of clippers that I use to clip my toe nails. So, I reach for the next closest thing, a used fork that is also sitting on the counter (because I was too lazy to put it in the sink) with some unidentified food product on it. Ok, this will work. I cut the slit and put the meal in the oven.

Then, I examine the fork more closely and realize that the stuff on the fork was left-over cookie dough from a pass I had made into the cookie dough tub earlier today (see below). I had to use a fork rather than a spoon because I didn't have any clean spoons (because I'm too lazy to do the dishes).

I decided to check to see if there already is a lazy mom's blog. Alas, lazy mom blogger has yet to make any entries.

I feel you lazy mom. I really do.

It's Been One of Those Days...

You Know It's Time To Shave Your Legs When...

When every time your toddler accidentally brushes your legs with her hand, then looks down, giggles, and says, "Hair!"

Yes. Mommy needs to shave.

Baby Birthmarks

My three month old was born with an "Angel's Kiss," which is a warm and fuzzy way of saying that she has a birthmark between her eyebrows that kind of looks like someone with too much lipstick gave her a big smooch on her head. It's barely noticeable now, except when she get's really mad and her whole face gets red, but shortly after her birth I remember my mom asking me how it got there. All I remembered was the midwife saying something about blood vessels.

She's had some other abnormalities, too, including a white spot in the center of her pupil which we later learned is a type of cataract and will most likely be harmless.

As a mother, I have always wondered if there were things that I did during my pregnancy that may have led to these various imperfections. I know I was much more conscientious during my first pregnancy, and that baby came out fine. But, I didn't smoke, didn't consume any alcohol, rarely drank soda, and exercised occasionally. True, I had an insatiable sweet tooth that I kept feeding, and I did enjoy some green tea occasionally.

This evening I happened across an article citing research suggesting that lack off oxygen to the placenta may be the culprit behind my baby's birthmark. Aha! So it is my fault. Did I not sleep on my left side enough? What did I do wrong?

My baby is still beautiful, and I'm swear she is absolutely the sweetest baby on the planet...always smiling and cooing. But, I feel tremendous guilt that I didn't take better care of my body, and my baby, during my pregnancy. No, I can't go back in time and try to do things better. In fact there's nothing I can do now except feel like crap.

10 Things I Hate About Breastfeeding

I know, breastfeeding is best, but do I always have to like it? These are things I'd rather do without:

1. That weird tingly feeling I get whenever the baby cries, or I think about the baby crying, or feeding time is getting near, or I think about the weird tingly feeling.
2. Leaky boobs. Especially when I'm out in public and only realize that I've forgotten to don my nursing pads once the milk starts flowing.
3. Spending countless hours in my car because I can't find an inconspicuous place to nurse wherever it is that I've gone. (Please don't hate me Lactivists!)
4. Pumping. True, I don't have to pump. But that would mean not being able to leave my baby for more than two hours or so on any given day.
5. Saggy breasts. (Although some would argue this point.)
6. Sharp little baby nails clawing into my sensitive areola.
7. Nursing Bras. They're ugly and I can never seem to find the right size.
8. Knowing that once my little nursling is latched on, I'm in it for the long haul, be it a ten minute "snack" or a nearly hour long nursing session with a tired baby sleepily sucking on and off.
9. Lopsidedness. This happens when the baby prefers one breast more than the other.
10. Baby teeth. Enough said.

And one thing I love:

1. The look of horror on my brother's face as I take my baby from my breast and only then does he realize that I've been nursing during our entire conversation!