Mini Mommy Breakdown

Ever have one of those days... or weeks, where everything that can go wrong will? Or one of those weeks where all the little things add up and lead to a boil over of emotions/ frustration? Yeah, that's what my week was like. Everything wasn't going horribly wrong, it was just a ton of little things added up, that sent me into my mini mommy meltdown.
It started off on Monday morning, I was checking my e-mails and having my morning coffee, while my little munchkin was playing with her toys and turtle walker. I finished all of my e-mails and then I realized that it had been very quiet for the past 10 minutes and not once had my daughter came up to me wanting to be picked up. What's that saying.. " whenever it gets quiet with a toddler, you know somethings up?".
I then felt a tiny tug at my shirt, and turned around to pick her up. I noticed a greasy feeling substance on my shirt and her hands, legs and in her hair. I go and look to see what she had gotten into and this is what I found.

She had gotten into the Vaseline that was on her change table. She'd never gotten into it before ( never shown an interest ) so I figured it was fine there. Monday showed me that in fact it's not a safe spot. I looked around and she had it on a bunch of her clothes, the floor, the garbage, her high chair legs and the bottom of the crib. So I scooped her back up and off to the bathroom we went. I figured that I'd conquer the mess after she was cleaned up.
After she was all clean, we continued to put a diaper and clothes on. I bent down to pick up some clothes off the floor that were covered in Vaseline and what does she start doing? Throwing diapers at me and giggling uncontrollably. It was funny and cute, until she took the basket that they were in and started waving it around, and caught me in the face with it.
All fun and games until someone gets hurt.
I put her in the crib and put all of her Vaseline covered clothes in the hamper, wiped everything off with wipes and towels and put the Vaseline up in the closet in what I think is a safe spot for now, that is.

Later that day, I made a small Starbuck's Mocha flavored coffee and while I was feeding her in the  high chair,  I was planning on drinking my coffee.  Ha! Not for this momma. While I was attempting to open a jar of baby food, she reached over, grabbed my coffee and whipped it to the floor.  I was less than pleased.
Around supper time, our little munchkin decided to take my water bottle, that she recently learned how to drink out of, and squirt it all over the floor. So when I went to sit down and play with her and her activity center I sat in a puddle of water, and was soaked. ( Better than slipping in it. )

Tuesday rolled around and our daughter who has been incredibly clingy since teething started, has amplified her clingy ways. I didn't think that was possible.... but it is. She now will not take naps unless I lay her in my arms. I attempt to put her in the crib or go do things that need to be done and she instantly pops an eye open and looks at me like " where do you think you're going momma?". If I don't go back and hold her, she cries until I do. It wouldn't be as frustrating as it is, if my husband didn't work away during the week. Which makes it hard for me to have any time for anything now a days. How do you tell a little one that though?

Wednesday and Thursday involved me trying to figure out Christmas gifts for her first Christmas, which is followed by her one year birthday a week later. I found a bunch of gifts that I want to get her. Split them up, half for Christmas and half for her birthday, and started doing the number crunching..... then started getting more frustrated.. " how are we going to pull this off?, and "I'm going back to work full- time so we can buy everything we need/ want for her." Which then brought up the "Daycare", blah, blah, blah. Friday was more of the same, until our little one wouldn't even give me 5 minutes to have a shower ( first one all week ) without crying hysterically. Oh yeah and did I mention that at night she refuses to sleep in the crib now. She falls asleep in my arms and as soon as I put her in the crib she wakes up and cries, and cries. I've tried the "cry it out" method... it doesn't work. She just gets to the point to where she is hyperventilating and makes me feel like a horrible mother. She's also been doing what we call the "Sleepy dance" at night; however she does it from 1-3 am too and then is up and ready to go at 5 am.
So all the little things piled up, and the trying to plan Christmas and her first birthday and the food and cake, and attempting to figure out how financially we can make it work..... I had my mini mommy breakdown. I just sat down and cried... for a good 45 minutes. ( Which reminds me I was lucky enough to get a copy of Mother of All Meltdowns ( from Mommifried ) to read and review, and that will be posted as soon as I get the time to finish reading it. The stories in that book make me feel better about my mini meltdown. )
After I got that out, I felt a bit better. When my husband got home at 930pm, I felt even better.
After this week, I realized that our little one is officially reaching toddler status... where did the time go? I'm not ready for her to be a toddler.
How do you guys make ends meet for holidays and birthdays? I'd love to know.

One Year Marriage Anniversary

This entry is long overdue, but here it is. Our One year wedding anniversary! It was October 31st, but we have had so much going on lately, that I haven't had too much time to write a proper entry.
It was not only our anniversary but our daughter's first Halloween. ( We ended up getting her a pink bunny costume, for her first one.)
My husband worked during the day as per usual and after we bought her costume. She was so darn cute in it. Eventually she got mad at us because it was warm and a bit too long on her. Priceless!

We were going to go to Olive Garden for dinner ( husband wanted to take me there ) but I figured let's just go somewhere that we can take our munchkin and be comfortable. We went to dinner, us three. We ended up going to Red Robin, and started off with Mozza sticks ( Amazing ), I ended up getting a chicken burger and my husband got some kind of Whiskey Burger. My drink.... I couldn't resist, it being Halloween and all..... I ordered A Screaming Red Zombie. It was so good. :)

For dessert I ended up getting their chocolate lava cake, with strawberries and vanilla ice cream. It was perfect. Especially since our anniversary, it was raining and cold out.

After dinner we took our little one to my brother in-laws house and they watched her for a couple of hours. My husband and I went and got our Horde tattoos done. What better way to mark our One Year Anniversary than with the one thing that brought us together. ( For those of you who don't know, Horde is a faction in the game World of Warcraft... yes we met on WoW years ago. )

I LOVE them. They turned out really good. We ended up getting home around 1 am, so we were exhausted the next morning... but it was completely worth it. We had a great one year anniversary out, and first Halloween with our little one. Next year will be her first year trick or treating, which I can't wait for.!
The past year has had some ups and downs due to post partum and some family members... but I wouldn't change it for anything. It has been the first year of many to come, married to my best friend and only love, it has been one heck of a year and I can't wait for all the new memories to come with you and our munchkin.




Mommy Blog Hop

Dr. Scholl's For Her Cozy Cushions

I was lucky enough to receive the Rose Voxbox from Influenster a couple of weeks ago. :)

 Which included the Dr.Scholl's For Her Cozy Cushions inserts!

I was super excited to try these out. I have never tried any Dr.Scholl's products, however when I opened the box and looked at these, they instantly looked extremely comfortable.
I have not been disappointed.
The overview of them says: 

• Helps keep feet warm and dry
• Multi-layer design insulates against cold and dampness while absorbing perspiration
• Provides all-day comfort and support good for any season
• Adds renewed comfort to your footwear
• Works great in any boot or casual shoe

I agree with all these statements listed. They are extremely soft and cushioned, and nice and warm. I was skeptical at first on if they'd fit into my size 7 ladies Puma shoes.  Puma's are slimmer shoes; but they fit! A little snug at first, but better now.
They definitely help with the cold and dampness, especially since if I step in any water, it almost instantly goes through my beloved Puma shoes.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with these inserts, and I would definitely recommend them to anyone.

"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara

I was lucky enough to get to try out Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara. I don't usually buy the big mascara's, as they can be pricey and I find that most of them tend to clump ( no matter what their promise is.)
I have to say, that I was hesitant to try this mascara. Then I tried it. Let me just say, that I was instantly impressed. It has a larger brush, that is shaped like an hour glass to hug the lash line,and to really make your eyes pop. It's inspired by the 60's, and best of all..... it doesn't clump! It's also waterproof, but isn't hard to wash off at the end of the day.

I am a mom to a 10 month old little girl, so I don't have much time to set aside for makeup application. With this new mascara; however, I can just do my foundation and then apply some of Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam Mascara, to make my eyes pop, or to just look more awake. I will definitely be recommending this product and using it all the time. It has found a permanent place in my makeup bag.

 

  "I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."

10 Month Update

Our little munchkin is 10 months old tomorrow! Oh my gosh,... I still can't believe it. I'm sure every parent says that. Let's get on with it.

Height/Weight: Our little one is 25lbs now, and is wearing size 3 ( sometimes size 4 ) diapers, but it depends on the brand.

Clothes Size: She is wearing 12-18 month pants, shirts and sweaters, and sleepers ( she's really tall ). 12 months in onsies.

Sleeping: She wakes up 1-2 times during the night for a full 250ml bottle and a diaper change, then will go right back to sleep. Since she's been teething, in order for us to get some sleep, we have been letting her co-sleep with us. She seems to sleep much better.

Eating:  She will have about 4 bottles during the day, 2 at night. Z enjoys all different types of baby cereal, Cheerios, apples, she also loves the Gerber vanilla bites., and the cinnamon maple finger snacks. As well as the apple wheels and ranch bites. She seems to enjoy food we eat much more than baby food, and most times I don't blame her.The regular foods that she will eat are: grilled cheese, mac and cheese, bananas, pasta, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, muffins, mashed potatoes, ( she's tried chicken and beef with gravy ), and we are introducing her to foods a couple of times during the week.

Milestones: She officially has her first tooth! It FINALLY cut through mid October.
- She crawls super fast and all the time now
-Stood on the floor by herself
-Dances to music
-Claps and waves to people

That is the main stuff that I can think of at the moment. She is so amazing, and surprises us every single day
( She also had her first Halloween the other day, and we dressed her up as a pink bunny, it was so freaking adorable.).

Almost 8 month update.

              Next week, our little one is 8 months old. I can't believe how big she is getting. I haven't updated in a while, so I figured that I would do an update on our munchkin's routine, milestones, etc.

Routine: Our day usually starts around 4:30-5am. She will play in her excer saucer for about an hour, while I check e-mails.
Around 6-8am, she'll have a bottle and some baby cereal, then play in her jumper roo for a while.
On days it's nice out ( not too hot ) I'll take her for a half hour walk in her stroller. ( she loves going for rides), if it's humid and muggy outside, we'll go outside and she'll sit in her swing, while I attempt some homework.
When she starts getting ready for her nap, usually sometime around 11am I'll feed her a bottle and she will usually have it in her bouncy chair.
During this time I'll make my breakfast/lunch.
The rest of the afternoon, consists of us doing what she is interested in.
I'll read to her, she'll scoot around in her walker, tearing up the room lol.
She is also starting to enjoy playing in her crib for a while, which I am not complaining about. I use that time to clean up a bit.
She will usually go down for the night between 5-7pm.

Height/ Weight: Her last doctor's appointment, she was in the 95th percentile for height. She's tall! Her weight was 17.5 lbs, that was about a month ago. I'd say she's easily 19/20 lbs now. She's growing so darn fast.

Sizes: For onsies, she is fitting in sizes 6-9 months. Sleepers are 12 months size ( she's long ).

Sleeping: She still isn't sleeping through the night. She'll wake up maybe 2-3 times throughout. I think lately her teeth have been bothering her. ( still doesn't have any, but they are right there! ) I'll change her and she'll drink a 250ml bottle, then go right back to sleep.

Eating: She'll still have about 5-7 bottles a day. She eats baby cereal twice a day and baby food in the morning and afternoon. Foods she's eating are :Bananas, Applesauce, Strawberries, Rice, Oatmeal and Oatmeal/ Banana cereal, Peas, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans ( however she isn't a fan of them ), regular bananas, and we have the pouches of baby food to try this week. She's also becoming more interested in regular food. We are excited to start that.

Milestones: 
- She is sitting up on her own now.
- Saying the words "dadda, bubba and doo doo"
- Just yesterday she stood on her own in her crib. She hasn't stopped since. :) She's soon going to be walking, she gets so frustrated when she isn't mobile.
- She pulls movies and books off of shelves and will play with them for a long time.
- She let's us know when she wants food and not a bottle.
- She loves scooting around in her walker, and will follow us around, with a big smile on her face.
- Still no teeth, however they are right there! We can see them, they just need to pop through.

She is growing so fast, and it's hard to believe that in a week she will be 8 months old. :( Where does the time go?

 

Best feeling ever......

I think is that moment your baby wraps their tiny hands around your finger. I realized this months ago, but I never truly thought about it until this week.
I'm a first time mom, everything is new to me, and honestly I'm terrified of messing up. Lately I've been having some down days, when everything seems to pile up, or be too overwhelming, then I look at our daughter and her smile brightens the whole day for me. She lights up and I light up.
She's 6 months old, and sitting on her own and trying to crawl. I look at her and think " They are right, they really do grow up fast, I wish she could stay this size for just a while longer."
This really hit me the other day when I went out to do my weekly grocery/errands, I had my mom watch her for the couple of hours that I was out. I came home and as soon as she heard my voice, she turned herself around in her jolly jumper, got the biggest smile on her adorable little face and started laughing excitedly, all while reaching up for me.... can I just say, I almost burst into tears. I can't begin to describe the feeling of joy that overcame me. Just knowing that our daughter is happy to have me home.
( I think my worrying started when I wasn't able to continue breastfeeding ( I wasn't producing enough), I felt that our bond would become weaker. :/ ) I'm a first time mom, I didn't say all of my thoughts would be logical.
She also has been snuggling into my chest when she meets someone new, and I've been reading in a book I received this month that, our children do that because we are their "safe place". It's an odd but wonderful feeling to know that I'm my daughters "safe place". She's the same way with my husband ( her father ), big time daddy's girl ( her first word was DADDA ), everyone says he's wrapped around her finger already.
I guess this week I just kind of realized that being a parent is an AMAZING feeling. Knowing that our little girl wants us to comfort her when she needs it.
Recently she's been waking up at night, she doesn't want a bottle or anything, she just wants one of us to hold her and rock her back to sleep.
She never ceases to amaze me, and she melts my heart over and over again with all the new things she's doing and learning. Sometimes it's still hard to believe that I'm a mom and wife.
Best feeling ever.