The next time he proposes.....

I want him to do it like this:



Ok so there probably won't be a next time....but this gave me shivvers just watching it. And! He asked her on Husband's and my 11 year dating anniversary, a very good day indeed. Congrats, couple I don't know!

What's in your bag?

I'm a nosey person. Shocker, I know. I'm a no-holds-barred kind of person, talk to me and nothing's off limits and I kind of expect the same from you. But the one frontier that I think is truly telling of a person, but it's too personal, and frankly, kind of weird to ask is "What's in your bag?"

I think it'd be fun to rummage through strangers' bags to see what they carry around on a daily basis and hear the stories behind the trinkets that dance with their everyday essentials.

So.....wanna snoop through my bag?

About my bag:

 It's a J. Crew canvas and leather tote from the Summer 2009 collection. I bought it with my killer discount for a whopping $10 and carried it for approximately 2 days before Rowdy chewed the crap out of one of the straps (Jerk.....I never get nice things) so, added bonus - now one of the handles has texture!  

A peek inside at the mess....I didn't officially weigh it, but I'm pretty sure it weighs at least 7lbs. I basically carry a newborn in addition to my 5 month-old everyday! (so why don't my biceps rival Michelle Obama's?)

 Here it is all dumped out. As Husband walked by he said "That's a lot of crap....what are you doing, playing 'I Spy?'"

I ignored him and continued to take pictures of my "crap" like a crazy person.

First up, a pair of earrings and a half - I lost the other earring :( Super sad cuz those were one of my favorite pairs.

How much hair stuff does a person with long hair need? Funny you should ask! Apparently you need 15 bobby pins (that's an estimate....I have more things to do with my time than count bobby pins), 2 spin pins, 2 hair ties, one medium clip.....and a partridge in a pear tree!

Two Revlon lip butters; one in Lollipop and one in Raspberry Pie - part of my quest to find the perfect berry lip color/stain, OPI Nail Polish in Cajun shrimp from when I found myself in open toed shoes at work and needed a touch up, and a tin of Rose Salve from C.O. Bigelow that has thousands of uses, smells divine and lasts for friggen evah.

Personal iPhone (left) work iPhone (right). How do I tell the difference? Easy, my personal phone is black, my work phone is white :) Oh, and the cases help too....

Business card holder with business cards (cuz I'm 'portant!), Bluetooth charger, iPhone charger wrapped up with.....another friggen hair tie!

Cute wallet from Target, Glam sunglasses from Charming Charlie, CoverGirl pressed powder compact and Target Debit card, because work may as well pay me in Target Gift Cards as often as I shop there. And when you live 5 minutes from one, it becomes a problem.....we're working on it.

 Three pens, if you know me, I don't have to explain myself.

 Baby stuff! Even though my kid can't fit into 3-6 month clothes quite yet, her giant feet are fitting just fine in to 6-12 month socks, when we can get her to wear them that is, it's an ongoing battle. Two baby hair bows, because you never know when the day calls for a bow.

 Everyone, meet Maude. Maude is a rainbow caterpillar with a rattle in her tooshie who often finds her head getting gnawed on by our little bird. Ironic, no? I have taken to naming all of Vivi's toys, at our house we also have Monty (giraffe), Charlie (lion), Iris (butterfly) and Harold (duck).

J.Crew coin purse and $1.76 just floating about the depths of my bag.

 One pair of retired dice from Harvey's Casino from when we visited Monster in Tahoe.

Makeup pouch- I carry this daily because I often find myself doing my makeup at my desk before work.

This is that pink quilted bag that is full of.....and this is embarrassing, more lipgloss. Clearly I don't have enough lip products, please send more, it's pathetic how lacking I am in this department. Also you'll notice yet another hair clip and that sparkly bow is actually another hair tie, bringing my grand total of hair ties up to 5..... eek!

 I will be an old lady who dies with her collections of hair ties, bobby pins, ink pens and lip gloss. Fancy!

A rollerball applicator of my signature fragrance (jeez, that sounds cliche), Chloe. I will never stop wearing this because every time I wear it around my mom when she hugs me, she takes a big whiff and says, mmm you smell so good. Also, people stop me on the streets to ask what I'm wearing, the stuff just mixes really well with my body chemistry.

**That's it! Your turn!** 

Mama Survival Tools

I have no less than 10 friends who are currently pregnant, 7 of them are soon to be first time mommies. But whether you're expecting your first, or your fourth (bless your heart!) there is bound to be an arsenal of things that you'll find make life a little....easier? Here's what has a regular rotation in this Mama's life:

1. Korres Quince Lip balm- Has a nice berry tint that layers beautifully with chapstick or gloss. Plus it leaves nothing behind when smooching baby cheeks.

2. Lansinoh- sure the bottle may say it's for your sore nips, but what this gunk is best for is chapped lips. I swear, I carry a tube of this EVERYWHERE. I also have a tube on my nightstand that I apply most nights and my lips are baby soft by morning. Husband, who is a chronic chapstick abuser user, also uses it....provided I apply it to my finger first and not tell anyone ever that he puts nipple cream on his lips.

Oops :)

3.  Dry Shampoo- Sometimes I shower everyday, sometimes I shower every other. I've been using Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion Dry Shampoo. On days that I don't shower, it keeps the greasies at bay. On days that I did shower and wash my hair, I use it to boost volume and add body and....keep the greasies at bay. It has a distinct smell which isn't bad, but, well, it's a smell. I kinda like it but Monster said she could taste it and she wasn't anywhere near me when I sprayed it. So there's that.....

4. Spin Pins/Hair ties- Little Bird has gotten handsy in the last half of her first quarter. Making dangly earrings, nice jewelry and long hairstyles out of the question. These guys are amazing, but I have a tendency to lose them so I keep a backup pair at home. I just got This in my May Birchbox and so far am in lurve. Just not with the pricetag, I'm pretty sure I saw a 3-pack Goody or Scunci brand at Target for $3.50....might have to go pick some up.

5. Yes to Cucumbers Makeup Remover Towelettes- Because sometimes it's all a mama can do to wash her face before falling into bed. It's just a bonus that these smell awesome and have anti-aging properties.

6. Baby Wipes- for the usual and intended purposes, yes, but also because these are great for multiple purposes.  I keep a pack of uncented at my desk and use them to wash my hands when I do my makeup at my desk, wipe up errant spit up stains that I failed to notice splattered across my pants while I was getting dressed and to do a quick swipe of the armpits when I realize I've forgotten, again, to put on deoderant. :/  Also, trade secret? We regularly had a supply of these at J.Crew for getting makeup and lipstick off of clothes that had been tried on by makeup spackled faces.....you know the type. I'm telling you, next to magic erasers, these are awesome.

7. International House Iced Coffee- Just because the baby sleeps through the night (yay!) doesn't mean Mama does. Between night sweat, those pregnancy hormones are still on their way out taking the last of my extra pregnancy hair with them, Mama spidey sense on high alert and just general first-time Mama fears and worries means that I'm lucky to get 4 hours of interrupted sleep*. Which means I survive the day by grazing healthy (ish) snacks and downing diet coke or iced coffee by the barrel. And I'm sure I didn't tell you, but my money tree died and I can't afford a daily iced grande, nonfat, upside down, light ice, extra caramel, Caramel Macchiato. (yes that's my real order. Relax, I was a barista for 2 years, that's nothing)
**Fun fact: I have woken myself up staring at the baby monitor. As in, I was asleep, grabbed the monitor, sat up in bed and stared at it before waking up completely.

8. Clinical Strength Deoderant- Apply two clicks at night before bed (when your body temperature is at its peak) and you still smell fresh and clean in the morning. I still usually apply a regular strength unscented in the morning, for insurance, but there are days that I forget and I don't smell a difference come 2 o'clock.

Not pictured:

A quick, chic updo- Because sometimes after getting up at 4:30 to feed, then pump, doing your hair, or hell, even a shower just ain't happenin'. See also Dry Shampoo. I've been sporting these two:

Tutorial Here

Super Secret Hair Style Trick
hint: Google Sock Bun

 

Bedtime

Favorite and most sad part of the day for me lately: Bedtime.

Favorite part: hearing Daniel sing our little bird to sleep.....that man could have a career in singing. He gives Sinatra a run for his money.

Sad part: My little baby is one day older. One more day gone, one more day closer to her being a big girl.

Motherhood is full of bittersweet moments like this, it's hard on a Momma's heart.

What Changes in Month Two

Last month was a whirlwind, there's no doubt about that. From settling in at home with a newborn to adjusting from "just the two of us" to "three's a crowd," last month was a strange mix of hours dragging along to days turning into weeks which has landed us in a new month - still standing, still learning to breathe easier and still wildly in love with that little baby.
Here's what's up:

- Fueled with enough Diet Coke and Soy Chai Lattes, I am still thriving on 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Don't get me wrong, Miss Vivi is usually in bed by 11 at the latest, but once she's in bed, Husband and I like to have an hour or so to ourselves before turning in ourselves. Unfortunately an hour or so usually turns into 2 or 3 and Vivi gets up to eat between 3 and 5 a.m. and wakes up for the day around 7 so....yeah, I'm in a hell of my own making.

- Schedules become your best friend. Vivan wakes up at 7 to eat, she gets to watch the Mommy and Daddy get ready for the day show. She starts to wimper and fuss around 10:30-11 when she needs a little snack before taking her 11:30 nap (It's 1:00 now and she's still asleep...) She takes another nap around 4 and then we start the bedtime routine at 9:00. When she's napping I try to keep up with chores, nap with her or kick back and read a book or magazine. Or blog.... ok, rarely blog :/

- The meltdowns are few and far between, you've been at this Mommy thing for 8 weeks now, you get pretty good at deciphering which cries mean what, and the proper combination of tricks, toys and moves to alleviate the problem.

- You get better at multitasking. Nursing while putting away groceries? Piece of cake! Sending out emails while bouncing a crying baby? Child's play. Driving while reaching around to the backseat to put a wayward paci back into the baby's mouth? A little risky, but we're working on it.


- You begin to think about, and prepare yourself for the fact that you only have 3-4 weeks left of this Stay at Home Mom gig before you have to return to work..... and you're torn between the excitement and the dread of going back to work because....

- Mommyhood is beginning to feel fun. Note I said beginning, because learning how to stop being selfish when that's all you've been for the previous 7 years of your married life is a hard job. You'll have newfound appreciation for mommys everywhere, but more importantly, your own mother. You'll get weepy everytime you sit down to a dinner that's grown cold because the baby needed to eat first, not because it's not fair, but because you'll think of your mom doing it and the countless other things you do for your baby, for you. And then you realize the sacrifices are only just beginning, that the ones you're making now are small potatoes compared to those you'll make in the years to come. Becoming a mother is to truly realize how much you are loved by your own parents. It's a very humbling and earth moving realization. It will hit you like a semi truck each and every time and you'll hope you thanked them enough, appreciated them enough and made those sacrifices worth while for them.

Vivi has a Blog!

I started a blog for Vivi Lou. I'm not promising anything grand or spectacular, I know I've set the bar pretty low on this blog as of late, so it should thrill you to no end (my what, 4? 5? readers) that I do solemnly swear to post a photo and, if I'm really feeling ballsy, at least one cohesive sentence every day. Catch up with our little bird at The Littlest Wood Finch.

Now, maybe tomorrow I'll update here, but for now, Bonne Nuit!

Things no one tells you about the first month

- You, being  a breed of person that requires 9 hours of sleep a night minimum, will discover that you can actually function on 2-3 when absolutely necessary.

- That newborn that seemed so perfect and easy in the hospital? Yeah, that don't last. There's a reason hospitals only keep you for 48 hours....it's because after 48 hours, the exhaustion from being born wears off and the little nugget has enough energy to let his/her real colors show. There will be screaming, I'll leave it at that.

- You can overfeed a baby. Babies love to suck, if you put a nipple with food coming out of it up to their little mouths, they will suck, and therefore, eat. If you spent all day remedying whatever ailed you with food, you'd be pretty uncomfortable by the end of the day, too.

along those same lines....

- You will become a human pacifier. And it will make you think back to when you were pregnant and said "I just want my body back." And you will laugh at your former self until you cry and think "haha SUCKER!!" and then you will just cry.

- Your husband will come home to both a baby and a wife crying and there will be a moment where he has to decide who to console first. This is the Sophie's Choice for men..... there is no right answer and 9 times out of 10, he'll pick the baby.

- You will find yourself wondering what the hell you've gotten yourself into. You will think that you've made a huge mistake, you will think you're a terrible mother, you will find yourself wanting to run away. And in one particular shining moment, you will lay the baby in its bed take a few steps back and yell at the baby "What!? What do you want that I'm not doing?!" The baby will stop crying for a few seconds, look at you, pout, and start screaming again. And you will feel like shit.

- The baby will smile at nana, the baby will smile at daddy, the baby will smile at her drooly 13-month old cousin who likes to poke her in the eye and mouth, hell, the baby will smile at the white padded walls of her bassinet but the baby will not always smile at you. This does not mean the baby hates you.....at least I don't think so...

- Dinner conversations with your husband will revolve around the color, texture, consistency and frequency of poop. And you will retain your apptetite while discussing it.

- Baby farts are histerical and cause for celebration....so are poopy diapers.

- You will wonder when this whole mommy thing becomes fun, when it feels rewarding and when you won't feel like a walking stress ball. From what I've been told it's anywere from 6 weeks to 6 months so I'll keep you posted.

- You will hear/read all of these things when you are childless and think 'Not me! Not my baby! It'll be different for me!' And that's ok. You need that denial so that you can get pregnant. And then, once you're at home with your leaky boobs, wearing the same yoga pants for the 5th? 6th? day in a row, and your screaming, wailing newborn in your arms, you will mentally write an apology note to all of the moms you judged because you swore you would do it better.

 Let me be the first to say, apology accepted.