ZzzZZzZzzzz

Blake had a FIVE hour stretch of sleep last night!

Losing my mind...

It just hit me that I've lost a little piece of my mind. My short term memory.

I lose misplace my wallet AT LEAST three times a week. No. Not on purpose. Ha...

The other day, after the umpteenth time of losing it, I got incredibly frustrated and started to cry. I gave up looking for it. I checked my car, my diaper bag, the other diaper bag, the laundry basket, retraced my steps from the last time I used it... No luck. Couldn't find the damn wallet.

It's not just that... I forgot my makeup case somewhere. Where? Not sure. When was the last time I used it? On my way to the airport... from California to Maryland. :-/ I haven't seen it since.

Do you know how pricey it is to replace the makeup I had in there...? I don't buy expensive things but makeup is one thing I tend to invest in. Ugh...

And my lunch? And laundry? And keys? And phone?! I've been forgetting all of that, too!

I used to be the one to hold ticket stubs, receipts, parking garage tickets, money, cell phones... It's just so... arrrghhhhhhh... soooo damn annoying. It's gotten to the point where I'm thinking of getting one of those skater chains and clipping my wallet to myself at all times.

When does this so-called pregnancy brain stop?!

Happy Mother's Day!

My first Mother's Day with my son in my arms. :-)

Wow!

Last year I was super prego with this kid about to make his debut. This time I was able to give him kisses first thing in the morning.

As a single mom on Mother's Day, I kind of want to make a big deal over my first Mother's Day but knew that I wouldn't be able to. I wanted just a little extra time to stay in bed in the morning, or time to use the bathroom, shower, and put makeup on without Blake strapped to my side. Maybe getting my favorite Starbucks order brought up to my bed would have been nice. Possibly getting a spa treatment or my nails done.

But to get any of that would mean I had to set it up, which would probably mean I'd have to hire a sitter for the morning. And to be honest... just typing that out made me feel a little selfish...

Mother's Day is for us mommies, right? We all deserve to be honored as our children's mother. Even though I can't get a moment to myself, this day just reminded me how incredibly lucky I am to have my son with me. He recognizes my hard work every day. He may not say it or show it (yet) but I know he knows it. He knows who his mommy is and every time he wants to be held is a gift!

For any other single mamas, you may not get any grand spa treatments or beautiful cards but you do have your wonderful little kiddly winks to love on you everyday! Consider spending special time with your little one to make a craft together. Blake and I will be making handprint art to remember this day. Or maybe share a story about Mother's Day. When I was a nanny, I read the book Mother's Day by Anne Rockwell to the kids to share how many different ways children can choose to celebrate with their moms.

It must feel nice to receive gifts from your children and significant others, but the most important thing about Mother's Day is to take some time to yourself (probably during baby's nap time) to just sit and reflect on your feelings about being a wonderful mommy. Think about all the things you will cherish forever, all of the surprises you came across while raising your children, and all of the challenges you conquered on your own!

You are all amazing mothers! Celebrate YOURSELF in any way that you can! I'd love to hear about all of the love you were showered with today!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

What Happened to Paci?!

When we got back from California, I figured we'd just do a "test run" of how life would be without his precious pacifier (what we call "paci"). I kind of felt like we needed it while we were away to help soothe Blake since we weren't in the comfort of our own home and daily routine.

For the past few months, Blake would spit out his paci right before he fell asleep. The night after we got back from our vacation, I wanted to just TRY and see how he'd act without it. I got him a Disney nightlight that projects onto the ceiling so he stayed focused on Mickey Mouse and his friends. He smiled and waved to them in the dark. It was probably one of the cutest things I've ever seen him do... but then again, I think everything he does is cute. :-P

So he stared, and waved, and smiled... and rolled around, and flipped, and stood up, and let himself fall back onto the soft bed. He was ALL OVER THE PLACE! But at least he was happy while he was tossing and turning all over me and our bed.

After about 20 minutes of pretending he was doing gymnastics, he found my milk-milks, nursed and fell right to sleep. I thought to myself... it couldn't be THAT easy to just not give him his precious paci.

I tried hiding it the next day during nap time... and he did the same thing. Tossed and turned, nursed, and slept. Shoot. That's it?!

Later that day he got really fussy, probably because his body clock hasn't adjusted back to Eastern Standard Time, so I tried to give him his elephant WubbaNub paci and he spit it right out! I tried again while shushing him and trying to calm him down, and he slapped it away. He actually blocked his face from it!

Now we're a week in with no paci! Yay for Blake! I almost started to think he'd never get rid of it and he'd be like Maggie from The Simpsons, but I guess our little ones just have to want to do it on their own. ;-)

Our Trip In Pictures

Thanks to a bunch of family, friends, and new online mommy friends, we were able to really explore and enjoy our visit to California. We received a ton of recommendations of things to do and places to go, and unfortunately with Blake we weren't able to check all of them off but we enjoyed trying!

In case you didn't read before, Blake's dad was able to join us. Together we agreed it would be a great idea to have an annual family trip for Blake. It gave us time to connect with each other and show Blake all the amazing things around him. His dad was a great travel buddy and made for an easier trip.

Watching Sesame Street on the plane

We arrived late at night on a Wednesday so we didn't get to do anything except pick up our rental car, check into the hotel, and unpack. But the flight with Blake went well... up until the last two hours... it was tough for him to get back to sleep because of all the commotion but his body knew it was bedtime. He cried for about 30 minutes, or maybe less but it seemed long, before he fell asleep in my arms and attached to my milk jugs. lol! Yes, I just whipped out the milk-milks on the plane but I'm sure the other passengers would rather have a happy, quiet baby than a screaming monster. Usually, I cover up but when he's like that it's really hard to because he gets so hot.

The next day we woke up early and went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Blake absolutely loves water and he has really been into fish lately. I'm guessing it's because we have a koi pond and an aquarium at home. He was able to touch some of the anemones and starfish so he definitely enjoyed his time there. He was more in awe than anything. Surrounded by his fish friends! By the time we finished our rounds at the aquarium, he fell asleep. Perfect timing! So mommy and daddy met up with a good friend and had lunch (and a few beers). ;-)

Mommy and Blake about to head into the aquarium

The really, really awesome Giant Sea Bass was probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen

Blake waiting for his fish friends to say "hi".

We even saw some penguins!

On Friday, we hiked up to the Hollywood sign! When I'm on vacation, I'm not usually one to recommend hiking... or working out... but thought it would be a great memory to make with Blake. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to hike up and back. Blake slept most of the time. It was beautiful weather and it felt great to be out and about. I wish we could have gotten closer to the sign, but at least we made it up that incredibly steep incline! Gotta love the BOB Revolution Stroller!

At the beginning of the trail

The awesome view from all the way up top!

The sign was soooo huge, I couldn't even fit half of "Hollywood" in a frame.

After that hike, we spent Saturday loungin' at Huntington Beach. It was a sunny, but breezy, day so it felt incredibly comfortable just hanging out in the sunshine. We didn't get into the water because it was still too cold, but we brought some back in a bucket for Blake to play with in the sand.

Pointing at girls on the beach

Sunday was a busy day. We had breakfast with my doula (she moved back to California after Blake was born), met up with a couple old high school friends in Santa Monica, explored the pier and then went back to the hotel to unwind. I would post pictures, but I'd like to respect the privacy of my wonderful friends. ;-)

Then on Monday, our last full day in California, we planned a day at... DISNEYLAND! It was truly magical and I think Blake's dad and I were both full of excitement just being there. We rode a few rides. The Finding Nemo ride was Blake's favorite. We also caught It's a Small World, one of my favorites from when I was a little girl. We were hoping to catch some fireworks but found out that they only show fireworks on weekends until peak season. BUT... we found out that there was a parade at the end of the day so we saw that instead. We also just absolutely had to get Blake's first Mickey Mouse ears and a hoodie! He also received a special gift from his friends at Disneyland and we were told to pick it up at City Hall. We went there before the parade and were surprised with personalized, autographed pictures from his buddies, Mickey, Minnie, Peter Pan, Wendy, the Captain, Buzz Lightyear, and Woody!

My little guy was able to nap a bit before his Finding Nemo adventure

A spoiled, tired out little kid

Mommy and Blakey waiting for the parade to start

And... that's all! We really enjoyed our time there and can't wait to go back! It was a fun vacation and two weeks later, I'm still running on all the vacation happiness!

Traveling with a little one

I'm no expert when it comes to traveling with a kid. But after researching and traveling by car for up to ten house and now by plane, I figured out what works for us. This post may or may not help you but if anything, hopefully it gives you some ideas when you travel with your little one.

Blake is not even a year old yet, but we've already traveled down south to the Outer Banks and up north as far as Rochester, NY. This past week, he took his first plane ride all the way across the country to Los Angeles, CA.

The thought of a family vacation was awesome but as our departure date got closer and closer I started to get really nervous. First, Blake is still breastfeeding so I didn't know what to expect on the plane. And second, I was so afraid of being THAT mom with THAT kid on the plane.

Now that we're home, I can honestly say it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be.

How did I keep him quiet and pleasant during our flight? I packed a ton of little things. Lol! In my carry-on I had:

- a large resealable bag with a diapers, wipes, a small hand sanitizer, disposable changing pads, and a sample size of CJ's BUTTer
- a clear sandwich bag full of different snacks
- a large, resealable bag full of toys and toy cleaner wipes
- a reusable pouch with my manual hand pump to express milk
- a muslin blanket

And that's all we really needed!

I brought a diaper for every two hours that we would be traveling. As for wipes, I had a small sample size.

Our sandwich baggie included his favorite crackers, some organic cheese puffs, goldfish, and two arrowroot cookies. We had more than enough leftover after the flights but it was enough to keep him happy.

To keep him occupied, I brought a variety of toys. Plastic stacking cups, his drumsticks,a small squishy ball, a pretend cell phone, a crinkly counting book, his Indestructible book, and teething keys. I rotated the the toys and books out so he'd only get to play with one at a time. And it worked wonderfully!

The muslin blanket acted as a coverup when I was breastfeeding, a drool cloth for when he had a little dribble when he ate snacks, and as a blanket when the plane got a little cooler. PERFECTION!

So when I boarded the plane, I put my carry-on bag on the seat, pulled all of the baggies out and stuffed them into the seat pocket in front of me. That way I wouldn't have to worry about him and dig through my carry-on when we needed things. I actually had the carry-on stored away in the bin above us so I had a wee bit more leg room.

It's not rocket science but before our departure, it sure felt like it. Oh, and I brought my iPad and kiddie size headphones. I downloaded two episodes of Sesame Street before I left the house so it wouldn't require any Internet while on the plane. When he got super sleepy and fussy, that was my saving grace. He doesn't get much TV time at home so that was a real treat for him!

Three hours behind

I'm finally getting back to the swing of things here. Blake is still on California time, which I guess can be a good thing. Like when he wakes up at 9 or 10 am. But he doesn't sleep until 10 pm... Which means...

I can't drink wine until after that... And by that time, I'm too tired. :P

Just kidding.

It's just a little tougher getting him back on track with our weekly activities, like our workouts, playgroups, MyGym, and his swim classes. All of that takes place in the mornings, but when he doesn't wake up until 9 or 10, I need to rush.

I'll eventually get around to posting a few pictures of our California adventures... But for now, maybe I can share a few tips and tricks and such about traveling with a little one? What do you think?