A Week Without Baby

I started my new job on Wednesday. 

I am now a conference coordinator. I book conference spaces for a hotel. A secretary-type job, but that's the kind I like. So far, I've only completed two days of work, but I know I'll like the job. 

I don't have much to talk about with my munchkin still being at my mothers. I pick her up tonight, and I'm pretty excited to see her. She's been sick with a fever, but Mom found evidence that it might be a huge tooth coming in. Poor girl. Oh, how I miss her. 

With her gone I've spent some time cleaning the apartment - sorting baby clothes and mopping floors. I've shopped a little. I've taken the bus home from work for the first time. 

Really, there's been nothing interesting to report. 

So this concludes my really boring update on what's been going on lately. 

Drunk Birthday Photos of the Past and Back to Work

I don't do birthdays with class. 

My birthdays? Are either a drunken good time, or a night of junk food. 

24th birthday. Liquor and ice cream cake

19th birthday

23rd birthday

20th birthday - No, they're not all mine

Chloe's birthday? Reduced me to tears. 

When Chloe's birthday party was over and the guests left and Chloe was having a nap, all I could do was look around and try not to cry. The leftover decorations and new presents were just a huge reminder that the party was over. My daughter's first birthday party had come and gone. It was the last big event of my super long vacation. Not only was her party over, it also served as a bit of an 'end'. The end of my 13 months of maternity leave. 

I was only set to go back to work a week later, on October first, but knew things were a bit up in the air after going in for a job interview. As of Sunday, I had no idea if I'd be starting work that week or the next, but either way my time home with Chloe was coming to a quick end. I always knew I'd be sad when it was time to go back to work, but I thought I'd take it easily enough. I was a little sadder than anticipated. 

I got a call Monday around lunch that had me packing up Chloe with enough clothes and food to last her a week, and bringing her to my mothers. She only starts daycare on October 1st, but the phone call was asking me to start work on Wednesday (today), to start the new job that I had been interviewed for. 

This is a huge deal for me and Chloe because my old job (which I love) could only give me a couple of daytime shifts a week. Squeezing in enough shifts to make a decent pay check would've been incredibly hard, and most likely would've ended with me either working two jobs, or looking for a new job altogether. 

This new job is Monday to Friday, and the hours are within daycare hours. I don't have to worry about working anymore. This should be a huge relief, and it is, but I'm still sad to leave my daughter, and especially early. It makes me especially sad, because for her to stay with my mother (an hour away), I won't see her all week, including her birthday.

Chloe and my mother

I woke up the morning of her birthday and just lay there feeling sad about how I wasn't waking up to her pretty face. It was especially hard because she's been a bit feverish since the afternoon of her party. I hate being away from her. 

But ultimately, this is great for us so that's what I'm doing. And today, by the time you're reading this post, I should be starting my first day of training at my new job. 

I am now a conference coordinator. Doesn't that sound important? I love having a nice title. 

But I sure do miss my baby. 

Chloe's First Birthday Party

Chloe's first birthday party was Sunday. It was a great day.

A bunch of family and friends came over for food, cake and presents. We started the party at two, although most people arrived long before. The birthday girl put on her party dress and the fun started. 

She got a bunch of great presents: Some Megablocks, Elmo who plays the drums, finger painting set, a purse and accessories, a bowling set, a bunch of clothes, and a bunch of other things. She also got a blanket made out of her baby clothes from me. 

I took a million photos, so I'll share a few with you of the birthday girl. 

And a few of family and friends, including the actual birthday boy and girl in the middle, my brother and sister. 

Overall, a great day, and I was incredibly sad to see it and end have everyone leave. 

And today? It's baby girl's actual birthday. 

It's Almost Party Weekend

I'm sitting by myself in the dark, kind of. It's just after lunch on Friday. The weather is not what you'd call nice, hence the darkness. Chloe is napping, boyfriend is at work, and I'm using this time to catch up on reading blogs. 

The weekend is an important one. 

Sunday is Chloe's first birthday party. Friends and family will be coming over to help celebrate. I am beyond excited to see some of these people. It's been too long since I've seen some of them, like my grandfather. 

I bought a bunch of food, a bunch of supplies, the little present and the outfit. But I still don't feel prepared. 

There's still cleaning to do, the big present to pick up, and a few small groceries to get. A few more groceries to get, since I ate some of the party food. Oops. 

I also went a job interview yesterday. I don't want to get into details, but I'm hoping to hear back about it today, whether it's a good answer or a bad one. A lot of things depend on that answer, no matter which way it goes. 

So things are a bit all over the place here. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, and I think I just need to write out a to-do list and tackle it, then I'll feel better. 

Oh how I love lists. 

What's your weekend looking like?

It Feels Like Family

Somehow, growing up I always knew I'd end up being a single mother. I was always so shy and awkward, I just never saw things working out for me traditionally. Maybe it was me being pessimistic, or maybe it was me being realistic. There are a lot of single mothers out there. But unlike me, most of them don't start out immediately as single mothers. 

What I didn't see coming, was how quick and easy it would be to meet someone, and form a little family of our own. 

I love watching our girls play together and bond. I love watching them laugh and occasionally hug and kiss. I love watching them splash in the bath and play peek-a-boo under the high chair. 

I love having someone to give the girls a bath so I can clean up the supper mess. I love doing the dishes together while talking about anything. 

I love having a guy who poses for stupid pictures for me. I love that money is never a fight. I love that there never really is a fight, just a discussion. I love making plans and talking about future holidays and birthdays together. 

I love that the laundry piles grow three times as fast and the sinks are never free of dishes. I love that toys and sippy cups are always everywhere. Even though some mornings are too early and some nights too rough, it feels like family. I like the feeling. 

3 Blogs You Should Be Following

Whether you're a crafter, regular ol' family blogger, or whatever kind of blogger you are, there's always a few key blogs you should be following, whether it's for their tips or for your own exposure. Here are a few that I've found to be the most helpful in some of these situations.

If you want more exposure for your blog: 

The Sits Girls

The Sits Girls are (and I quote from their website): a group of 40,000 women bloggers dedicated to supporting one another by leaving comments & learning about blogging. They feature a blogger every day, they share tons of amazing blogging tips, and their main goal is supporting bloggers and helping them gain exposure. I've found a lot of amazing bloggers through their daily featured blogger.

If you want to become a successful seller on Etsy:

Everything Etsy

Everything Etsy has more tips, tricks, tutorials and advice than you could ever ask for when it comes to Etsy. From packaging, to advertising, to creating your shop banner, to product photography, everything is here. When I first though about opening my Etsy shop, I got stuck on this website for hours reading articles. I may not have yet put to use a lot of the advice, but I still couldn't seem to get enough.

If you're a huge crafter / DIY fan: 

Tip Junkie

Tip Junkie is a gold mine if you're into anything crafty. There are a million tutorials, featured projects, recipes, etc. Every Tuesday she hosts Tip Me Tuesday, where literally hundreds of people link up their projects and recipes. 

What are some blogs you've stumbled upon that have helped you along your way? 

8 Facts About Chloe

I started using Google calendar for blogging, in an attempt to keep me on more of a schedule. Tuesdays are supposed to be 'All about Chloe' days. Last Tuesday I wrote about Chloe being a pain in the a*^ to feed. This Tuesday is sort of special, because it's the last Tuesday that her age is measured in months only. Next Tuesday, she is one. 

Soon my baby turns one, and slowly starts inching away from baby-hood and towards toddler-hood. I'm scared.

So what's Chloe been up to during this second-last week of baby-life?

• Chewing on everything. Mostly tables and me. The table chewing is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. 
• Slapping everyone in the face when they hold her. 
• Waking up crying shortly after she goes to bed, almost every night. Usually at least twice. Plays happily once I get her out of bed.
• Will eat pieces of baby cereal bars. We're getting closer to 'real food'. 
• Either throws her bottle out of bed, or pushes it through the rails. I'm never there when it happens. The bottle can fit through some of the slots, but not others. Don't know what that says about the quality of the crib. Shouldn't they all be equally spaced?
• Picks at her diapers until she can pull fuzz balls off it, if she's not wearing pants. 
• Still absolutely loves The Backyardigans theme song, but pays no interest to the show once that's over.
• Sways to music. Yesterday she started bending her knees when standing and bouncing a little to the music. 

Next week, a special Chloe update. Maybe she'll do her on vlog. Probably not, but the option is there.


Coming tomorrow: Three blogs you should be following. 

Silent Sunday: Who Needs Sleep?

 [ via ]

This is so fitting for today, as I'm up by myself waiting for my daughter and boyfriend to wake up. I love being the first one up. 

Photo-filled Update on the Two Babies

It's been lots of fun lately with the two girls. With Lil M being in daycare throughout the week, we don't see her as much when her daddy has days off that fall through the week. Still, it's fun when we do get to see her. Here's what both girls have been up to lately.

Chloe has started climbing into her old car seat, and just chilling out. Sometimes she gets stuck and gets a little whiny until I go help her out. She does the same thing with her Bumbo chair. And her stroller that one time I didn't fold it up immediately after bringing it in the apartment.

Now that it's cooled down a bit and Chloe's grown, she finally fits into these pjs that someone bought her way back when. The pjs are just pjs, but I absolutely love the hat, and how funny she looks in it. I'm just so happy she kept it on for about 10 minutes so I could take a bunch of pictures. Then she took it off and tried to eat it. 

This is little M. She's little miss personality. I threw my old cell phone into their toy stash when it stopped working, since they're always grabbing for our actual phones. M picked it up the other day, put it to her ear then started to babble. Some of the faces she made 'on her call' were priceless. 

As you can see, there's not much that's noteworthy around here. Next up on my boring ramblings about babies: Chloe always getting into messes. The fun. 

Fill in the Blank Friday

I'm doing something new - taking part in Fill in the Blank Friday, and I had a blast with it. 

1. Right now the weather where I live is:

Pretty amazing for September. Sunny, and warm. You could still have a beach day today (and tomorrow!) if you wanted. 

 2. The best piece of advice I've been given is:

Trust your mommy instincts. 

3. My most favorite person in all the world is:

If I eliminate the obvious (my daughter), I would pick my grandfather. He's spoiled me since the day I was born. I was the first granddaughter, but not only that - I was the first child of the only girl. I lived with my grandparents for a year when my mother gave birth to the twins. When I went away to college, he had a bit of savings for me to get started. When I was struggling, he always helped out. In November 2010 he had a stroke, which left him as a whole new person. He has a hard time communicating with speech, but can sometimes get his message across. He doesn't like a lot of the things he used to. He's completely different. The one thing that hasn't changed is that he still loves me more than ever, and has also passed that love along to Chloe. He's basically my father. 

 4. If I were to have a "mission statement" for my life, it would be:

Yolo. 

Hah, totally kidding. I could try to pull something awesome and inspirational out of my hat, but I'm not wearing one. So I pulled something out of my ass instead. Meaning, I hopped on Pinterest and found something that fits into my life right now.

[ via ]

 5. My most favorite item in my closet is:

My little black dress, that I only got to wear twice. I absolutely love it and can't wait for an opportunity to wear it again. 

 6. The best cure for a bad day is:

A happy baby. That might sound a little sappy or cliche, but it's true. No matter how upset I am, if Chloe smiles or laughs at me, I can't help but smile back, even if it's just a little. Coffee helps too. 

 7. Today is:

Friday. How can that ever be a bad thing?

10 Activities to Keep a Toddler Busy

With two little girls running (or crawling) around these parts, I spent some time over the summer looking up various activities I might be able to try with either or both of the girls. They get tired of just playing with their toys all day, and we can't always get outside so it's fun to try new things. We didn't get to try as many things as I would've liked, as Chloe is still too young to be able to do a whole lot, but I did find so many good ideas to share. 

1. A Colorful Rice Garden

All you need for this one is a container to keep it in, some rice, food coloring and rubbing alcohol. Visit Share and Remember for the full instructions and more photos. 

[ Source: Share and Remember via Pinterest ]

2. Bubble Bath Paint

Very simple to make, and can keep the entertained for a little extra bath time fun. See Meet the Dubiens for the ingredients and instructions. You could also do shaving cream paints. 

[ Source: Meet the Dubiens via Pinterest ]

3. Fabric Squares in a Baby Wipe Dispenser

Very simple, and you can use any pattern of fabric that you like. I wish I would've found this pin sooner! Visit A Spotted Pony to see the full details. 

[ Source: A Spotted Pony via Pinterest ]

4. Themed Sensory Bath

This princess-themed bath is so detailed and looks like so much fun for that little princess in your life. There are also other fun bath time ideas listed at the beginning of the post at Growing a Jeweled Rose. This particular example might be better for a child a bit older, but could still be used for a younger child. 

[ Source: Growing a Jeweled Rose via Pinterest ]

5. DIY Car Track with Tape

I've looked but can't find the original source of this image, but how easy would this be to recreate? 

[ Source: Pinterest ]

6. Play-Dough Filled Balloons

This particular article, I found at Play Create Explore, but you'll find the more detailed post about it at Somewhat Simple. Basically stuff your balloons with play-dough and squeeze away. 

[ Source: Play Create Explore via Pinterest ]

7. Mess-Free Finger Painting

Such a simple but fun idea - paints inside a freezer bag.

[ Source: The Hippie Housewife via Pinterest ]

8. Magnets + Cookie Sheet

This is one of those ideas where you can really get creative and use any kind of kid-friendly magnet or little trinkets you have around. 

[ Source: Mommy Lifestyle via Pinterest ]

9. Pom-Pom Drop Bottle

For this one you could use any (clean) plastic jar or container that you have laying around. 

[ Source: Toddler Tinkerings via Pinterest ]

10. Toddler Activity Bags

All kinds of good ideas, and perfect for travelling, too!

[ Source: Chasing Cheerios via Pinterest ]

What are some of your favorite activities to keep the little ones busy?

What Type of Blogger Are You?

[ via ]

When it comes to blogging, you might hear a lot about 'niches'. 

It comes up a lot especially if you're looking to make money off your blog. If you blog fits nicely into a 'niche', then it'll attract more people interested in that niche, advertisers know if they're product will fit with your blog, and yada yada. Some examples would be: video games, weight loss, parenting, etc. 

I don't really follow the niche rules. I blog about whatever I want. I follow any blog I like, regardless of how much I may have in common with that blogger. Funny single girl blogging about make-up? Hell, I don't even wear make-up much but if you're funny, I'm there. 

I don't know if these count as niches, but the blogs I tend to follow can be stereotypically summed up as such:

 - Single-girl blogs. Now, these girls aren't necessarily single, but they're unmarried. They're usually gorgeous, their men are gorgeous, they do tons of fun things, and make me envy their life. A lot of them tend to have and adore their fur-babies. (See: All in My Twenties and Pink Lou Lou)

 - Married-girl blogs. These girls are married without kids. Kind of similar to the single-girl blogs, except with more wedding photos and a nice looking man at their side. 

 - Mom blogs. I've loved mom blogs since before I became a mom myself. Mom blogs are always full of great advice, tons of cute pictures, and funny stories. Except mine. I'm not funny. (See: Things I Can't Say)

 - Funny blogs. Do I really need to explain this one? (See: The Bloggess. More importantly, you need to read this post on picking your battles)

And of course there are other categories, there are mixed categories. These are just the few that stand out. 

I don't know where I fit in. I never thought of myself as much of a niche blogger. I tried to do the craft blogging, but I didn't have the time or energy to keep up with it, although I really wish I could keep it up. 

I'm a mom, and I do blog a lot about babies and motherhood and all sorts of that boring stuff, but I don't feel like a mom blog. Maybe others see me as one. I could understand that. Even when I wasn't a mom, I wasn't a single girl going on exciting adventures. I was even more boring. Maybe I'm just a miscellaneous blog, mixed with a big chunk of mom blog. 

What do you think? What blog type am I, and more importantly, what blog type are you?

7 Tips for Feeding a Baby Who Hates to Eat

If there's one thing I haven't talked about in much detail, it's Chloe's eating habits. They are horrible. Feeding time is more often than not just a huge pile of stress and tears, sometimes on both parts. 

You see, Chloe is a bit underweight - she was always between 1st-4th percentile. I kid you not, the child is tiny. At 11 months, she's not even 18lbs yet, that tiny. I've had public heath and nutritionists constantly checking with me, wanting me to bring her in monthly to be weighed, so it's important that I make sure she's eating enough. 

She's always hated eating. When she was on only formula, she would push the bottle away after only a few ounces. Once I started her on baby food, she hated it, and that was an even worse struggle. Now, after 5 months of baby food, she still constantly bounces back from eating a nice amount, to eating just about nothing. 

She cries, she hits the spoon, sometimes she's just plain distracted. Foods she gobbles down one day, she fights not to eat the next. I've tried all the tricks, I've tried forcing her, I've considered giving up. 

I am convinced that I have an anorexic baby. If you think you might have an anorexic baby too, here are some tricks I've tried that have worked (even if only for a little while) to get her to eat. 

1. Try everything. I've given her fresh deli meat, grated cheese, yogurt, pieces of bread, rice treats, ice cream, anything just to see if she'll eat it, and to get her used to all kinds of tastes and textures. If I'm at a restaurant with her, I let her try a little of what I'm eating to see if it's something she might eat if I tried it at home. 
2. Mix it up. She hated carrots, so I put about 3 tablespoons of her pureed carrots in a bowl, and about 2 tablespoons of her rice cereal (it was rice cereal with apple and banana) with some of her formula to make it less thick. She gobbled it down three different times before she refused to eat it again. I've tried it with other vegetables, and one time added some pureed apples when she still refused to eat it. 
3. Play 'Hide and Seek'. If they hates a certain vegetable, mix a little bit of it with something she does like. Or put a little bit of both on a spoon and see if they takes it better. 
4. Keep trying. If they don't like something one day, give up for awhile and try again later. 
5. Give them choices. On days Chloe wouldn't seem to eat anything, I just threw a bunch of random things onto her tray: grated cheese, lunch meat, pieces of bread, cooked pasta. Whatever was available. 
6. Distract them. Sometimes if some baby food dropped onto the tray, Chloe would get so distracted by it that she would willingly take a few bites. The same thing happened if I gave her a spoon or something to play with. Singing also worked sometimes. 
7. Make it fattening. By that I mean throw in some extra calories where you can. I always make Chloe's cereal with her formula, no matter what the packaging says. She gets more calories from her formula than she would if I used water. I also sometimes dip pieces of bread into baby food. 

Do you have a little one at home who isn't a huge fan of eating? Or any tips to share?

Ps: Join me Thursday for Pinterest Clean-up where you can link up and show off some of your favorite child-related pins. 

20 Things You Probably Don't Know About Me

This blog is still fairly new, so I haven't written a whole lot about myself in here. Frankly, I'm kind of boring (or so I think) and it's a bit more interesting to write about Chloe. Especially because it's a great way to get all those little memories in writing. Today it's my turn, and I'm going to list 20 things you probably don't know about me if you're just starting to read my blog. Let's go.

[ via ]

1. I have a younger brother and sister. They're twins.
2. I met boyfriend and his daughter the night before his daughter's first birthday.
3. When I drink coffee, it makes me get really hungry twice as fast then if I had done. 
4. My daughter was born on my ex step-father's birthday. 
5. I only have one friend who lives nearby, and she lives an hour away. 
6. I have just as many close guy friends as I do girl friends. 
7. I'd much rather drink and go to a wedding dance than drink and go to a bar.
8. I would have my walls completely covered in photos if it wouldn't be too smothering.
9. I don't like to eat almost every fruit, and many, many vegetables. 
10. I like all kinds of music, but country is my absolute favorite.
11. I love coloring, still have some old coloring books kicking around and bought some new crayons recently. 
12. I love logic puzzles, fill-it-in word puzzles, and sudoku puzzles. I'm ready for old age. 
13. I'm addicted to buying used kids clothes. 
14. I absolutely hate making food if it's just for me. 
15. How I Met Your Mother is my favorite show (among many others)
16. I recently lost all my photos on my computer, so I've been taking a million new ones to make up for it. 
17. Failbook.com is my go-to site when I'm extremely bored and have a computer to kill time on. 
18. I'm not a fan of cooking AT ALL, I usually let boyfriend do that every chance I get, but I love baking sometimes. 
19. If I had a bit more free time in the run of a day I'd love to start scrapbooking again.
20. I never realized how much I use Photoshop for blogging lately until I lost it with my computer. 

What are a few things I probably don't know about you? Comment below or write a post and leave me the link! 

Chloe's Circus Birthday Party Invitations

The invitations are finally complete. The inside of the card is simple with the what, where, when. On the inside at the top I used two elephant cut-outs to hold an 'Admit One' ticket with their trunks. 

Please excuse the horrible photo. With the loss of my computer, I also lost my photo editing software and didn't want to go out of my way to blur out my address, so I did a bad crop job. Also excuse my horrible handwriting. 

Exactly two weeks left until the big day!

This post is linked up here: