Wills + Kate = Tru Luv

So as you all (hopefully!) know, this Friday is the wedding of the century!!! William and Kate are tying the knot and we are in full wedding preparation mode around here. CC has a fancy dress and a pretty bonnet, I have mimosas on hand (for me, not her. obvi.), and we have been watching "William and Kate" on Lifetime. In addition to any other show I can find to cram onto our DVR regarding the royal wedding, including "Royal Wedding of a Lifetime." This is a big deal people! I can't wait to tell CC when she is older about the big day we spent watching history be made. I totally wish I was British right now.

And now a note to all you haters that think the wedding is stupid: You are obviously entitled to your own opinion, but I think you are really missing out! This is such a nice thing to see on tv instead of murders, and car wrecks, and recession news. And, as an anxiety-ridden mother I can't usually watch the news because it makes me (even more) nuts, so I am happy about this positivity, even though I know on Saturday the news will be right back up to its old tricks. If you change your mind about the wedding, come on over on Friday for a mimosa! Wear your best hat!

"Since I am a princess already, I am totally using this card for a royal shopping spree!"

Here Comes Peter Cottontail...

We had a fabulous Easter Sunday around here, Bill's family came over for a nice lunch, my baby-daddy made ham, and there was enough dessert to put us all into a chocolate coma! And, what Easter celebration would be complete without a visit from the Easter Bunny?!

"it's like Mommy has a big basket of stupid props somewhere. I wish I could find it."

The Easter Bunny was very giving at our house this year, mostly because Christmas was a hurried affair and at 3 months old, CC didn't really get it anyway. But Easter was a completely different story! We came downstairs in the morning and CC saw her basket of goodies, and smiled so big! She could definitely tell that it was a special day, and she loved every second of it. She also loved her new purple hippo and bird, which were the biggest hit of all the items she received. She also got a few new bathing suits (including a bee suit, stay tuned for pix of THAT amazingness!), a pink tutu outfit from Nana, some books, a pair of white retro sunglasses, and the cutest cat shirt ever from Grandma Nancy!

"blocks are CLEARLY for eating."

All in all, it was an amazing day full of memories that I will treasure forever. We will have many more Easter celebrations in her lifetime, but there will only be one 1st Easter, and it was absolutely perfect. 

My Teeny Yogini, At It Again.

We are very busy around here today, but you should know that we ALWAYS do a little stretching before things get too crazy. CC is such a little show-off!

"I am so much more flexible than Mommy. I don't know why she thinks she can keep up with me."

Prison Break. No. Not the Show.

So just to keep you all informed of the happenings in my life, yesterday my MIL and I took a trip to the NH State Prison in Concord!!! I had to visit my baby-daddy you know.

Just kidding. In all seriousness, we DID go to the prison, and I tried to snap a few pictures, but MIL got a little nervous when I whipped out the camera and said they might think I was doing recon for a prison break (not her exact words, but that's what she MEANT), and that it was not such a great idea to flash my camera around. So, I only got a few shots, and even though I met a few of NH's finest criminal masterminds, I did not get my picture taken with them like I had hoped. Sadness.

Anyway. The reason for the trip was these babies:

"please ignore my scary basement"

This is a pair of 1920's era bookcases that were in my house growing up, and according to my Mom, came out of her grandmother's (her mom's mom) house at some point. I love them and have had them for a few years now, but they have definitely seen better days. Especially after spending the last year hanging out in my basement. Don't they look like they have such promise?

It turns out that the NH State Department of Corrections teaches trades to the inmates, and one of these is woodworking. So they make new furniture and also repair and refinish old furniture! On the CHEAP. Handy right? Like, you can take a picture from a Pottery Barn catalog to them and they can make you an exact replica for a fraction of the cost! Isn't that AWESOME!?

Well, I wanted to take these guys because they need some serious repair work on their bottoms. See?

"obviously not child-proofed"

I did not want to try to redo them myself because of this, and because they are not solid wood, I was afraid I would destroy them trying to sand them. So, now they are going up to the woodshop at the facility in Berlin, NH to have their pretty selves repaired and painted white. Nice, yes? And, since there was NO WAY I was going to drive all the way up into the boonies of NH, I got the okay to drop them in Concord yesterday, and today they will ride up to Berlin on the prison truck. Awesome.

To make a long story sort of shorter, you cannot just drop stuff off at the prison whenever you want. You have to first call Dude in Berlin and describe your pieces. Then you email pictures. Then Dude emails you a form that you have to fill out and fax back, basically stating that you are not planning to smuggle contraband into the prison in your furniture. (Except nails are cool apparently, since my bookcases were riddled with them and Dude said it was fine.) Then you have to wait for the okay from Dude to make the drop. THEN you get to take the labelled furniture (with an EXACT copy of the form you faxed to Dude) up to Concord and drop them off. And finally, a nice inmate comes and takes them out of your car for you! Just the coolest thing ever. 

So this morning my bookcases are on their way to Berlin, and I should have them back in a month or so, and I can't wait to see how they turn out! And share the result here of course!

For your enjoyment, I have provided a few more photos of the day, and when I go to pick them up in a few weeks, I will be doing an important blog report on THIS TOTAL AWESOMENESS, AKA Corrections Creations, that sadly was closed on Tuesdays. I can't wait. Don't you want to be on my Christmas List this year?

Here's The Photo Montage I Know You Were Hoping For!

"please note my awesome 1960's doorbell box in the background."

"George Adams, AKA: Dude"

"Don't you love what I've done with the kitchen? That wallpaper is EPIC."

"NHDOC. Looks like every other building in NH, since it is made of bricks."

"Making the drop at Warehouse Door 9. Sort of sounds like a trendy new bar."

"You can come in, but you can't get out!"

"You KNOW you are totally jealous. And, obviously I wore stripes. I call this look, 'prison chic.'"

Sparkle Chocolate. Be Still My Heart.

I don't often get in a tizzy over watches, but the new Fossil catalog showed up in the mail today with this beauty inside. It is brown and gold and silver and SPARKLY. I'm like a crow sometimes when it comes to sparkles. So is CC as a matter of fact. And, she would love to eat admire this baby on Mommy's wrist. My heart palpitated a little bit when I saw it, and really, isn't that how we know when something is meant to be? I heart this watch. I might even start wearing a watch just to convince Bill that I need this one. Also, I should mention that it is described in the catalog as a "chocolate watch." Yes please.

"This would look smashing on me. Just sayin."

"I will eat that thing so fast!" 

The Only Sleepsack You Will Ever Need. So Buy Two.

Since I blew my Ebay auction last night and now have to wait for another set of books to be listed, I thought I'd pass the time doing a "review" of another baby item I love! I use quotes around the word "review" because I am just doing this for fun, I am not being paid or encouraged by any company to write this stuff, I just figure if I like it, someone else might too. right?

however if you WANT to pay me, feel free.

anyway. I digress. When I was pregnant, I spent a great deal of time looking at sleep sacks and swaddlers and the like, but I did not find the ONE until a few months ago. Sure, CC liked being swaddled for the first couple months (we used this one in case you are curious, and loved it!), but she outgrew the size we had and our pediatrician recommended that we get her used to sleeping on her own without it around the time she turned 4 months old. If you follow me on Facebook at all you might remember the time I tried to wean her from the swaddle too soon? (she cried for hours and made me want to throw myself out the window).

So as you know we live in New Hampshire and CC was 4 months old in January. BRRRRR!!!! Now, we heat our house of course, but down comforters are a MUST in this kind of climate. We were so worried about CC being warm enough and the sleep sacks we found didn't seem to be doing the job keeping her warm. Even the fleece ones were just not enough for my little princess. Finally after a few nights of CC waking up (and waking everyone else in the house up) because she was cold, we went on the hunt for a sleepsack that would really stand up to our winter-time test.

Enter THIS GUY.

This Baby DeeDee Sleep Nest is the business. It is so cozy and comfy, and it is big enough to last for quite awhile and give my girl plenty of kicking room. It looks like it is made of down, but it isn't, which I think is good because then I might worry about CC getting TOO hot, you know? But, she loves it, I love it, and the cats love it when we leave it unattended, so really everyone wins! We have it in this Parisian Blue color, and it is so pretty. It washes great and has these awesome shoulder snaps, so I usually just leave it laying in the crib when she gets up. All in all, definitely an item I can't live without! Now if I could just figure out how long she is supposed to be in a sleepsack for...

I Need A Nest!

"I freaking LOVE my sleepsack! However, the click of the camera wakes me up when I'm sleeping, so I had to draw the line at Mommy taking my picture while wearing it. A girl needs her privacy right?"

I'm SUCH A Dink. Bill Says I Can't Say The A-Word On The Internet.

I missed my auction by three minutes and someone else got my books for cheap. tears. sadness. whatever. That's what I get for paying bills when I should have been doing something constructive, like stalking Ebay. Even CC is feeling my pain. And, yes, I know this looks a lot like the other picture of her crying, but I took them at the same time. Deal with it. Please pardon my attitude this evening. I'll get over it tomorrow and be back with sass and happiness, I promise.

"For real Mom? All week you stalk Ebay and then you missed the auction? Ridiculous."

If Anyone Knows How To Remove Paint From Cat Fur That Is Still Attached To A Cat...

The countdown is on until my next book auction ends, and I am WINNING this time for sure. I'll be sure to check back in to do my virtual victory dance when those bad boys are all mine!

Anyway, we finished painting the dining room today and are slowly moving things out of the office so that room can get painted next. I have also collected several pieces of furniture that are absolutely screaming for paint, and I can't wait to get started on making them beautiful! Eventually I hope to have my house put back together so I can have playdates and wine parties, without worrying that the stacks of crap I have everywhere will topple over and kill someone. And, slowly but surely, we are making progress. Now I just have to figure out how to remove paint from the cat. sigh. I did try to snap a photo of that action, but I almost got my eyes clawed out. So you'll understand if I don't try again.

So those are the happenings around here today, and I promise I will get some pictures taken and posted in the coming week of something other than my baby, but until then, you can see that some of the members of this household are taking a timeout to enjoy a few minutes of quality playtime!

"I told you to back off! This is MINE."

Swing Into Spring

Yesterday CC had a chance to go in an outdoor swing for the first time! She loved it of course, so obviously I have to share a quick picture of her ridiculous cuteness. Please enjoy and HAPPY FRIDAY!

"Get out of my shot Ma. The paparazzi is only interested in me."

7 Month Letter. On Time and Everything.

April 14, 2011

Dear Caroline,

Today you are 7 months old. I need you to stop growing so fast because you are becoming such a big girl, and it makes me so happy, but so sad to see you leaving babyhood behind. Every day I marvel at you and the way you exist in the world. You have such a good heart and you are so happy. I hope you will always feel the kind of joy I see in your face when you smile.

You are trying to pull yourself up now and you can stand while holding onto things. You love music and dancing, and of course I have made up a little song for you about that! Yesterday I held you up on your feet and let go and you stood by yourself for 5 whole seconds! I can see you trying to figure things out now, and when you find a button that makes a noise you will push it over and over again. You are so smart already, and I can tell you are going to give us a run for our money when you start talking and wanting to do things on your own!

You eat lots of things now, but you especially love pizza crust, honey wheat Ritz crackers, mango, green beans, and turkey cranberry baby food. You can hold your own bottle and you are almost able to drink from a sippy cup AND a straw cup. You have been a complete angel every time we have taken you to a restaurant, and the other day you had your first brunch with the Squirrel girls and your BFF Emma!

When Daddy gets home at night your face lights up and you smile bigger than you do for anyone else. I love when you hold your arms out for him and make him feel like he is the luckiest Daddy in the world. You have so much love in your little heart and we feel it every day. I can’t tell you enough how much I adore being your Mommy.

Now that it is getting warmer you are getting to ride in your stroller quite a bit and you seem to really love this new vantage point. People still comment on how cute and beautiful you are, and you always reward them with a smile. It is nice for you to see the world from your cozy seat in your stroller, and I love that you are so mellow when we go for walks. I feel like you are always watching things around you and taking everything in, and I can see your little brain working hard to process each new thing you encounter. It is truly miraculous to witness.

I love you so much Little Bird. I can’t wait to spend our first summer together and share with you my favorite season, my favorite place, and my favorite things to do. Thank you for making me the luckiest Mommy in the world. Love, Momma Bird

CC’s Free Fallin’ Song

She’s a good girl, loves her Mama, loves Daddy, and her kitty cats too
She’s a good girl, crazy about lions, loves dancing, and singing too 
And it’s a long day, living in New Hampshire, there’s a snowstorm, blowing through the yard
And she’s a good girl, with a great big smile, she’s a good girl, with a great big heart…

Seven.

Little Miss Caroline is 7 months old today. It is unbelievable to me that time has gone so fast and she is so big already. I have already cried twice in the last 24 hours thinking about it, and am tearing up right now even trying to write this! I am almost done with her 7 month letter, so I will have that up in a day or two. It is amazing that I am starting to think about her 1st birthday party!!! I am torn between feeling like I can't wait and wishing it would never come... Ugh. Here come the tears again! Damn Mommy hormones.

"I wish Mommy would stop crying and take me to get my learner's permit."

Wordless Wednesday. kind of.

"Seriously? A safety harness? Whatever."

Blast From the Past

So in non-baby related news, last night I lost an Ebay auction that I really, REALLY wanted to win. This is a huge blow because I set my alarm to get up in time to place a last minute bid and everything, and then got beat out in the last two seconds by some loser with nothing better to do who outbid me by $2.50. This is a big deal for several reasons, the least of which is that Bill told me I could bid up to a certain amount and if I won it would be my Mother's Day gift. But, I wanted to get a deal, and so I did not bid as high as he said I could. Now I have to wait FIVE more days for the next auction to be over so I can WIN for sure this time. I am sort of an amateur at Ebaying, so I don't know if this happens all the time or not, but I am taking all this business personally!

I'm on the fence about whether or not to tell you what I want to win, because I know how internet shopping addicts like myself can be and you might stay up late trying to beat me and then be like, "so, I have this item for sale that I know you REALLY want, and I'll sell it to you for $1000 bucks!" And I might be so annoyed by then that I would pay you that ridiculous amount of money, just to WIN.

Oh what the heck. It's these bad boys.

I used to have all these books. I also used to have all the Baby-Sitters Club books, all the Sweet Valley High books, all the Sweet Valley Twins books, all the Boxcar Children books, and all the Fabulous Five books. Complete sets of all of them, in beautiful condition. And let me just tell you, my books were loved. I took care of them and kept them in numerical order, and read them over and over and over. 

Well, we were in the NAVY and moved a lot, so we were constantly trying to get rid of stuff to make moving easier, so these books all got sold at some garage sale at some point, most likely to one of the people I am currently trying to by them back from. But it is a bummer, because if you do a little time-wasting on Ebay and then do the math on what these bad boys are all selling for in complete sets these days, you will see that we probably should have kept them.

Anyway, now that I have a daughter, I have major sadness over the fact that I don't have these books to give to her. So I have been buying them up on Ebay! I have almost all the Baby-Sitters Club books and am obviously working on Trixie Belden. But Mom, if you are reading this, feel free to help a girl out! Easter is coming. And Mother's Day. And my birthday. Thanks! Love you!

We'll end on what CC looked like when I broke the news to her about my lost auction.

"Oh Ebay, why do you torture me?"

Monday. Ugh.

All weekend all I heard about was how NICE it was meant to be today. How the sun would be out and it would be in the 70's. I had a nice day all planned and now it is cloudy, grey and yucky sucky outside. I don't care if it is warm, I just want to see the SUN. Now I have to get my posse involved. Here she is. Watch out.

"Don't make me get gangsta!"

Springy Saturday!

This morning has dawned bright, sunny, clear, and WARM! Spring is totally here, if we can just get over the fact that when the sun goes down NH becomes hostile and tundra-like. This is what CC looked like her first morning in San Diego this past February when she realized I was not going to put a giant coat on her. She is in for a treat today! Bill however, is not happy because he has to stay inside all day with me and paint the living room. I would show you a picture of his reaction to this news but he has hidden the camera. 

"No coat? No tights? No way! Thanks Spring!"

Amber Teething Beads. A Natural Wonder!

I first came across this 60's style baby item when one of my besties had them on her daughter Bean. I thought they looked cute and fashionable, and when my girlfriend told me that they were actually to help with teething pain, I figured they were something I needed when I finally had a baby. Obviously.

Well, now I have a baby. So of course when I was pregnant I bought some amber teething beads for myself! I bought mine on Etsy, straight from Lithuania, where apparently they keep the real-deal amber. But you can buy them all over. When I went back and pulled up my Etsy purchase I found that the guy I bought mine from has closed his Etsy storefront. This chick on Etsy sells hers straight from Latvia, which is equally cool and hip.

Here's the deal with amber and teething. And I get all my info from Google, in case you are wondering how I know so much and am so smart. This particular info comes from this helpful website! I have just pasted it here for your convenience, these are not my words and I encourage you to visit Amber Teething Necklaces.com to read more and buy beads. They know their stuff!

Healing Properties of Amber

Ancient Germanic tribes such as the Goths, other Nordic peoples, Celts, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Chinese and other peoples valued amber for it's beauty, protection and healing properties. Amber was also called Electra, Bernstein or Northern Gold due to its electrical properties and golden color and was traded far and wide in the ancient world. This always warm to the touch amber gem which possesses electrostatic properties was, for centuries, and continues to be utilized for healing purposes. This unusual great power of amber is embedded in its ability to produce negative ions that affects man by easing pain, activating the healing process, and providing protection from harmful radiation. It is worth it to become familiar with amber and have this simple natural ionizer with you at all times. Amber is a fossil resin with a chemical combination close to C10H16O, containing some Hydrogen sulfide. Amber is a powerful chakra cleanser and healer. At a physical level, is imbues the body with vitality and has the power to draw disease out of the body. By absorbing pain and negative energy, amber allows the body to rebalance and heal itself. Amber alleviates stress. It treats the throat, stomach, spleen, kidneys, bladder, liver, and gallbladder, alleviates joint problems, and strengthens the mucus membranes. As an elixir and for wound healing, it is an excellent natural antibiotic. Amber provides decisiveness. It strengthens your memory and intellect and helps with emotional calming and centering. It is an excellent grounding crystal, and transmutes negative energy to positive. Amber radiates a warm and bright energy. It aids the Abdomen, Bladder, Blood, Eyes, Kidneys, Stomach, Tissue Revitalization, Throat, Liver, Joint Problems. Wearing crystal jewelry gives you the energy of the stone all day long. Amber draws disease out of afflicted areas and neutralize negative energy allowing the body to heal itself. Wearing baltic amber close to the skin is a traditional European remedy for baby teething. A natural analgesic, amber will help calm a baby without resorting to drugs. Used for centuries in Europe, amber's natural anti-inflammatory and pain relieving properties are perfect to soothe teething babies. Amber is fossilized resin, which warms against the skin, releasing it's theraputic properties safely and naturally.

How can you not believe after reading THAT?

My Experience:

These beads are great! I am convinced that they work, as CC has been showing signs of teething for over a month now and whenever she wears these beads she is much more calm and doesn't seem to be in pain. She also forgets she has them on, so they don't end up in her mouth like everything else she gets ahold of! So overall, less of a pain in the butt for me to deal with all around.

Obviously she only wears them when I am supervising her, but they really have made a difference. Also they look adorable, so you know I love them for that! Appearance and fashion are important values to instill in a baby girl, you know. Also shopping.

Shameless Photo Reel of CC Working It in Her Teething Beads!

"My mouth feels awesome!"

I'm A Believer!

It is Impossible for Me to NOT Use Words.

I've been working on a post about the amber teething beads that CC wears and it keeps getting longer and not finished, because I am a wordy perfectionist. crap. anyway, we'll try the whole Wordless Wednesday thing.

My Teeny Yogini!

"please don't distract me from my zen time."

Dig It Up or Let It Lie?

Since our basement looks like a scary trash pile, I have been spending many hours down there sorting through the crap that got dumped there when we moved in. One of my biggest projects has been to gather and eventually process all the detritus of my youth; old letters, notes passed in high school, photos, yearbooks, ribbons, rocks, items pilfered from Denny's, you get the idea. After coming across a box of the musings of my teenage self, I am tempted to present some of them here for a laugh. We'll see. I know you will hold you breath with hope while I mull it over :)

In the meantime, here is what I have been thinking about when I am not holed up in my dungeon of a basement, or entertaining my almost 7 month old. Be still my heart.

Miguelito

As some of you know, I have a younger brother who is totally one of my BFFs. He is only about a year and a half younger than me, but trust me, I am OLDER and WISER. He is currently about to celebrate his birthday and one year wedding anniversary in April and have a baby boy in June. My baby brother. Trip out.

I mention this because Miguelito is my world. We grew up traipsing the country in our NAVY family and most of the time we only had each other to lean on. He had his moments of course, since he IS my little brother, but for the most part we stuck together and looked out for one another. And when we could both drive we had a blast, since we lived in Panama City Beach at the time and that place is T.R.O.U.B.L.E. If you know us personally, you will require no explanation.

Miguelito is currently serving in the NAVY himself and has to leave his pregnant wife for long stretches of time. He just left yesterday and I already miss him and his hilarious phone messages. I know he'll be back in a month or so, but it still makes me sad when he is gone. For now, I have to amuse myself by leaving him ridiculous voicemails and chatting with my SIL more often. But, it isn't quite the same.

Here we are at our respective weddings in 2008 and 2010 (me first, obviously, and I was 18 weeks pregnant at his wedding so don't think I'm a fatty!). I heart him, even when he is a pain in the ass. And, if I ever figure out how my scanner works on my fancy printer, I will be happy to share a much more hilarious photo of us when we were much younger. I'll work on it. In the meantime, fair winds and following seas Miguelito. Hurry home.

Isn't Technology Awesome?

So my brother's wife is pregnant and due in June. It's a boy which I am super excited about, both because we need a boy in the family and because I don't have to feel bad about not giving away all of CC's too small, but still very cute baby clothes. This little exchange took place on my Facebook wall, and I thought it was too cute not to share! our poor kids will never forgive us for broadcasting their babyhood on the internet. But then again, they will probably be rotten teenagers like we were, so maybe it all works out in the end.

Dear CC,
 My mom and dad are always saying how awesome and cute you are so I just wanted to let you know I'm looking forward to meeting you in the fall. I hear you are taking swimming lessons, maybe you can give me a few pointers and I'll teach you how to climb trees someday. By the sound of it, my grandparents have gotten me some pretty sweet toys so maybe we can share? Anyway, time to go punch mommy in the kidneys and kick her in the bladder, I hear she likes when I do that. Looking forward to meeting you someday! 
Love, Cousin M.

Dear Cuz- I AM pretty cool, so I am not surprised that my Auntie and Uncle talk about me all the time. I can't wait to meet you since right now I have only seen your picture in Auntie's belly, and you look a little smushed. You should hurry up and get here because it is almost summer and time to play outside! I love you already and my mom and dad say you should stop kicking your mommy in the bladder, because when you come out they get back at you by sticking snotsuckers in your nose and making you wear antlers at Christmas time. ugh. My life. Love, CC

"When I learn to crawl, you'll be sorry."

The Snotsucker

Nosefrida Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator

I'm back again with another Mom Must-Have! The amazing and super sexy, Nosefrida Snotsucker. Now, this thing looks NASTY. No lie. But once you give it a try, you will totally be sold on its grossness! Here's the deal. CC hates, no HATES, having her boogers removed from her nose. She thinks saline spray and blue bulb syringes were invented purely to torture her, and she will fight until she is in a right FIT to keep me away from her face with these things. She is a strong little bugger too, and fighting with her over this stuff is a huge, exhausting pain in the ass. All of these fun factors led me to purchase this Snotsucker, which I prayed would be the answer to the endless screeching battle of snot removal.

Well. CC still hates having her boogers removed, but this thing is awesome. you control the suction strength with your mouth (I know, totally hot), and you don't actually stick it in your baby's nose, which is nice for them. I can get in and out much more quickly, and have much more success with booger removal. So I would definitely recommend getting this contraption right quick. It will make your life easier, and really, that's all we moms want right?

I should mention that CC has recently had a cold, and the Snotsucker proved it's worth in its ability to get out large amounts of watery boogers, not just the thick chunky ones you can actually pick out with your finger. Sold yet? You know you are.

Get This Hotness!

Snow Makes Our Heads Hurt.

so I don't have a picture of CC out enjoying today's snowstorm, but here she is expressing her feelings about snow in general. we are SO ready for summer.

"Snow? No."