Cousinly Love

I'm not going to lie, I wanted to post today for the sole purpose that there won't be another February 29th for four years. Luckily I visited my sister and her two beautiful daughters Monday and have some pictures to share. My nieces are so in love with Natalie. They're constantly wanting to hold her, feed her and talk to her. It's so sweet and I'm happy Natalie has cousins that she can grow up with. It's nice having family so close to home. In other news, the following conversation may be a sign that I'm too much of a mother:

While I was holding Natalie, my sister says: I like that shirt.

Me: Uh, really? Thanks.

Sister: Yeah. Where'd you get it?

Me: It's just a onesie from Target.

Sister: You're wearing a onesie?

I honest to God didn't realize she was talking about what I had on. I'm so used to people complimenting Natalie that it threw me off. We both just started cracking up afterwards. Then I decided I needed a drink.

Happy Leap day guys!

Smiling cousins

Beautiful sisters

Natalie looks pretty miserable, but it's still cute!

Random Topic Tuesday

So it's been a long time since I've posted a Random Topic Tuesday and I've missed telling complete strangers stupid facts about my life and opinions that you may or may not be interested in reading.  So without further ado, please welcome back Random Topic Tuesday! (Until I get too lazy to post them or run out of ideas!)



Today's topic: a time a friend let you down

It takes a lot for me to consider someone my friend. Even when I refer to them as so, it probably just means an acquaintance or someone I know and don't know what else to refer to them as. That being said, I used to have an absolute best friend back in the day. We went to boarding school together and were roommates for a couple years there. When we left boarding school we promised to keep in touch and we did. She lived in Florida, me in Virginia, but we occasionally visited each other anyway.

Over time our friendship lost it's luster and we grew apart. We talked less and less. One day she contacted me letting me know she was going to be in the area and wanted to meet up. She also let me know she was going to be moving in a few weeks to Australia. I thought I would get her a going away gift even though she was only going to be gone ten months. I decided on something sentimental. The night before we were to meet up I got her a gift (I won't say what it was since it was pretty cheesy) and wrote her a sappy note on a blank card about how much her friendship meant to me.

The next day came and I hadn't heard from her. I called her with no answer. I waited some more. Called again. Left a message. I got a little pissed off but at the same time I was worried about her. The next day came and still no word. She wouldn't flat out just ditch me. Something had to be amiss. I called again. Then I saw she had updated her Facebook page. It was clear she was perfectly okay.

 I sent her a message. I didn't say anything like, "Are you okay?" or "What happened?" I went straight into my feelings and demanded an explanation. She replied back and what she said made no sense. She asked for my address and said she wanted to send me a letter explaining herself. I had no idea what the fuck she was talking about but I gave it to her anyway and waited for the postman.

No letter ever came. I got engaged, married, pregnant and had a baby. She missed out on all of that and had no idea what was going on in my life. Even in the midst of all the excitement going on, I still thought about her from time to time. I don't know if it was because I was bitter and wanted her to know how happy I was even without her companionship, or if  it was because I missed her and wanted her to be a part of it all but either way it doesn't matter. She wasn't there and I don't know why.


It was a big let down, but her loss.

Roll Right Over

Natalie has been working on rolling from her back to her side and today she made it from her side to her belly! I read that babies usually roll from their belly to back at 2-3 months and from back to belly around 5-6 months. She's 12 weeks today. I know every baby is different and she may do other things like crawling or walking at a slower rate than most but this made me so excited. This video is technically the second time she rolled over since the first happened so quickly I didn't have time to grab the camera. I'm happy I caught it though, since she hasn't been able to do it since. She got frustrated while doing this, but right after I gave her a bottle and she went to sleep. Guess all that hard work wore a girl out!

Barbie, Princesses and Self Esteem

 When I was little I played with Barbie. I never looked at her and thought that I needed to be tall, skinny and blonde for society to deem me beautiful. (Mainly because I played with brunette barbies, but whatever.) I never read a fairytale and said, "Holy shit, I need a Prince Charming in order to be happy one day!"

Disney is no longer making princess movies because they apparently teach little girls outdated ideals and gender specific roles. I don't really care that they are, I'm not a fan of princesses, but it's the basis of  why they're doing it that bothers me. I think people are reading too far into what is suppose to be innocent and fun.

 I don't think that dolls are the starting point for eating disorders. I don't think that fairy tales teach girls that they need a man for their dreams to come true. I don't think that wearing a pink tutu and plastic heels teaches little girls to be submissive and passive. I think that just like the Cookie Monster deal, it's all about what parents are teaching their children.

 I know that parents can not avoid their child getting picked on for one thing or another. It's inevitable that one day my daughter, all our children, will feel less than beautiful. It's our job as parents to teach them that they are and that beauty is about character. It's up to us to show them beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and colors That seems like a pretty easy and understandable concept to bypass raising a shallow person, despite what one's childhood interests may be.

Baby Daddy

I usually find it annoying when people brag about how great their partner is (why would you be with them otherwise?) or openly profess their love all the freaking time (a little insecure, maybe?) but my husband does deserve some public recognition. He is a wonderful person. I often think how fortunate I am but really Natalie is the lucky one. This is going to sound incredibly pessimistic but our marriage is not guaranteed forever. It's not planned, expected and certainly not likely but Matt and I could always get divorced. Matt will always be Natalie's father though. As long as he's on this earth he will love, protect, provide and support her with every fiber in his being. As any good parent, he loves her infinite amounts. He has her pictures plastered on the wall in his office and his co-worker told me he talks about her all the time. Obviously any dad can adore their baby but he does so much more. He is so helpful with daily tasks. Diaper changing, feeding, putting her to sleep, getting up in the middle of the night... Anything to be there for her and help me out. I must admit that I did a good job choosing the man who knocked me up!

Be My Little Baby

I'm usually a Valentines day cynic, but how can I have a bad attitude today with this little girl around!?

Happy Valentines day!

Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the S. Factor shampoo and conditioner giveaway is Ali from Loving Life's Journey Congrats! Please email me your address and I'll ship you your winnings! I promise I'll have more product giveaways in the future, so there will be more chances to win free shit.

Also guys, I have a guest post over at the awesome Kaity's blog today, so check it out at: As We Grow!

No Laughing Matter

Sometimes humor can border on the line of being offensive. Sexist, moderately racist, and "dirty" jokes might piss some people off or be considered distasteful but most the time I find them funny when not taken too far. One thing I will never, ever find funny though is when people are making fun of the disabled.

I have an eight year old nephew with autism, however my sensitivity to this subject does not stem from personal experience. I obviously am not raising him but I know what a struggle it is everyday to try and meet his needs. He can't talk and this makes things difficult. While I don't feel like my nephew faces the same ridicule as children with an obvious physical difference, he is definitely subjected to stares and whispers in public because his behavior is not that of your typical eight year old. It doesn't really bother me that people are curious, but when they so blatantly stare because he's throwing a tantrum over something he can't express and clearly  just assume he's a brat, it does start to piss me off.

I have always felt sympathy towards others. I always knew not to stare at, judge or make fun others for their differences. It's not something that has to be taught or instilled in you from a young age. It's just common fucking sense. It's how we should treat people.

Not everyone has a sense of compassion in them though. The other day I saw one of the absolutely most offensive pictures posted on Facebook. It was a poorly Photoshopped picture of a little girl with a clear physical and mental ailment that had an incredibly mean caption beneath it, meant to be funny. The more I thought about it, the worse I felt. It makes my stomach sick to think that this is someone's little girl, someone's baby and just a means of amusement to others. Some woman carried this child for nine months inside her. Maybe the mother knew that her child was going to be disabled, maybe she didn't. Either way she did not ask for it and she certainly didn't  expect someone so precious to her to be the center of an incredibly heartless "joke".

Parents with special needs children have it hard enough. Do they really need to add into the mix your lack of consideration?

Me and my nephew, Drew, at my wedding. Impossible to get him to look at the camera!

Growing Like a Weed

Yesterday Natalie had her two month check up and she is growing fast! She's now 12 lbs which puts her in the 78th percentile and 23 1/2 inches which is the 87th percentile. Her head circumference is 15 1/2 inches which is the 65th percentile. That sounds big but it just means she's proportioned. The doctor said she looks nice and healthy. That is always reassuring to hear but of course I'll still worry about the future and any major health issues that may occur.

She also got some shots yesterday which obviously she didn't like. The first needle went in her left leg and she didn't make a peep. I was excited and thought she wasn't going to cry with the other two. I was also a little weirded out because I thought maybe she had some strange disorder where she can't feel pain. The second needle poked her though and she let out the loudest, saddest cry known to mankind. She cried for about two minutes and then we fed her and she fell asleep. She seemed unhappy even when she woke from her nap but who knows if it was related to the shots?

She is becoming very vocal and smiley. She's obsessed with the ceiling fan  and talks to it all the time. I don't want to jump to conclusions but my baby may be a little delusional. ;-) Another big thing was that on Monday she rolled over on her side for the first time! Anyway, here's a video I took of her yesterday. If you don't want to watch a minute and thirteen seconds of her doing pretty much nothing and don't want to listen to my annoying, nasaly voice, then at least skip ahead to thirty seconds in! It might make me a bad mom that I laughed but I think it's so funny.

Probably Should Have Done This Sooner

Since Valentines Day is next Tuesday, I thought I'd share the love and host a giveaway that has nothing to do with Valentines Day or love. (Other than it's pink.) So I'm giving away S. Factor Smoothing shampoo and conditioner to one lucky lady.  Just be a follower and leave a comment letting me know you'd like to win. That's it. I will announce the winner chosen by a random number generator on Monday the 13th, so you'll get your Valentines gift a little late. Sorry. (Just FYI this product smells a lot like candy, so if you don't like smelling like a stripper then don't enter.) Good luck!

*Giveaway Closed*

You're It!

I know you all have seen these post spreading through the blog world like wildfire or herpes, but the very lovely Marie from Feeding Five tagged me so I had to play along. I didn't feel like posting the rules, but basically make up your own set of 11 questions and pass it on to however many bloggers.

Her questions for me:

1. Has your blog changed since you first started blogging?
Oh yes. For starters, people actually read it now. Aesthetically I've changed it so many times too.

2. Tell me about the most expensive shoes in your closet.
I don't like to spend a lot of money on materialistic things. I bought a pair of black boots that were like $100 bucks and I never wear them. I think that's the most I've spent.

3. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
Redbull

4. Ever chopped your hair super short? Pictures?
Not super shot but I had an "edgey" shorter cut in my teen years. It looked awful.

5. How often do you fly?
Never.

6. Favorite TV shows?
Anything with paternity tests involved

7. Speak another language?
I wish.

8. Musical artist you can listen to over & over.
Hmmm... I'm not too big on music or any artists in particular. When I do get into a song I definitely play it out though.

9. What brings you inner peace?
Counting my blessings

10. Tell me something you're good at. C'mon, brag!
Killing flies is one of my few talents. Sad.

11. The love of your life/ideal man in 5 words.
Patient, affectionate, faithful, handsome, Mattito.

My questions for you:

1. What movies could you watch over and over and still love?

2. Last person you kissed?

3. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?

4. Ever gotten a speeding ticket?

5. What is your Chinese astrological sign?

6. Do you believe in ghosts?

7. In God?

8. Can you knit or crochet?

9. Do you miss anyone right now?

10. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

11. If you could live in any era of time, what would you choose?

Blogs I'm tagging:

Venessa from The Best Days

Shannon from Anchors Aweigh

Shannon from Sitting in a Tree

Kristen from Kristen's Day 2 Day

Tammey from LAFS

Steph from Mommy Talk with Steph

Melanie from Happy Jax

Stephanie from Blawnde's Blawg

Happy Two Months!

After work today, I went over to my in laws house for dinner with Matt's family. His aunt and uncle were in town and his mom surprised me with some store bought cupcakes to "celebrate" Natalie's two month birthday. I thought it was adorable and who cares if she can't eat them yet? More for Mommy to enjoy! This was the first time Matt's aunt and uncle met the baby, so they brought her a hand made blanket and little tea cup with her name engraved. It was a full on party! Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend. Hopefully Natalie got all the excitement out and sleeps well tonight!

Conversing with the Elderly

 I love the elderly. They're like racist babies that never stop complaining about how damn expensive things are. Fun. They're not such great listeners though. While having a picnic outside today an old lady came out of her house and we had this conversation:

Old Lady: "Oh, what a beautiful baby! I was looking out my window and just had to come over."

Me: "Thank you! Natalie, do you want to say hi?"

Natalie: Looking at a little boy walking by

Me: "Looks like she's more interested in that little boy."

Old Lady: "Looks more interested in that little boy."

Me: That's what I just said.

Old Lady: "How old is he?"

Me: Completely caught off guard I blurted the first number that came to mind. "She's three weeks." Huh?

Old Lady: "Oh it's a she? Wow, three weeks?!"

Me: "No, I mean..."

Old Lady: "You mean three months?"

Me: "No, I mean eight weeks."

Awkwardness.

I knew it was inevitable for someone to mistake my baby for a boy someday. I wasn't offended in the least, just a little confused. I'm just going to assume the lady was so entranced by her beautiful little face and couldn't see the gender specific clothes. Or hear me call her Natalie and use the term "she".

Oh, well.

Here's a picture of my food, because I know you really give a crap what I ate.

Gazing at the sky.

The sky.

Kissin' my baby.

Fell asleep in no time.

Starting to wake. I love the faces she makes.

Zombie baby coming to life!

Awake and not happy.

Figuring this life thing out.

Pretty sure flowers don't usually grow in February.