19 months

You are 19 months old today. I feel like I could turn in a circle and you'll be standing there, 19 years old.

I love you sweet Brooklyn girl, you are my life.

Case of the Mama Mondays

My husband called me this morning after he dropped our daughter off to tell me she had the worst break down ever as far as school drop off goes. Her school is right near his work so he takes and picks up every day. I am very grateful for this as it can be taxing on one person to do this every single day. Every morning he drops her off, watches her kick and scream, and starts his work day. We know this is normal behavior, they get over it as soon as you leave, but sometimes knowing that doesn't make it any easier.

Today was especially bad he said, lots of kicking and screaming "No DADDDDDYYYYY!!!!

When she woke up this morning she was in a great mood saying 'good mor-ing!' to us as Dom brought her downstairs. She asked for me and just laid on my chest for a few silent, still moments. My favorite times. She was acting goofy, dancing to Barney, enjoying pancakes & her 'bna-na'.

We do this routine 5 days a week and most days go really smooth. Others, like this morning, suck. I miss her, I want to stay home, comfy in our pj's, coloring, reading, playing, exploring...nap time after lunch while I get myself together, play on Facebook, blog, clean, start dinner, do some laundry. Wake up and go to the park, get home have a snack and wait for Daddy to get home. (Notice in my perfect world there are no meltdowns and tantrums to deal with). :)

It has nothing to do with dreading my actual job, that's not really the case at all. It has everything to do with just having a case of the 'mama Mondays'.

Babyproofed.

Apparently we have some work to do.

Taming the Beast.

When I was pregnant with Brooklyn I had crazy heartburn. It was SO much fun that I had to fall asleep sitting up some nights because it hurt that bad. There is an old wives tale that says if you have really bad heartburn your kiddo will be born with a full head of hair.

They were right.

Lots of people told me that she would lost the baby hair and 'real' hair would grow back in it's place.

They were wrong.

She never lost any hair really, it just kept growing and doing its thing.

This morning she woke up looking like this:

If that's not bed head I don't know what is. I think that's a good sign she slept well?

My husband won't even go near "it". When I was traveling for work last week he took her rubberbands to school and had her teachers do it. God help us when she's old enough to do it on her own and mommy is out of town. Not everyone has the mama skillz I do at TAMING THE BEAST.

Stripped

I briefly scanned through a recorded Oprah recently that talked about how much *stuff* we have in our lives. Stuff was primarily defined as electronics and technology - cell phones, laptops, countless hours spent on Facebook, blogs, iphones, email...*ahem*, all the things we are doing right now. Yeah, I'm totally guilty. Everything is so accessible that it makes it hard not to be.

Brooklyn gets a bath every night after dinner. Anytime that I'm giving her a bath I either bring my iphone to check email, FB, etc...or I clean up our bathroom. I let her play and I'll give her my attention, but it's shared. Because clearly seeing everyone's updates on FB is far more important than giving her my undivided time. She'll only be this small and innocent forever, right? Right...

It applies to my husband too, friends, family, everyone really. At Christmas I almost kicked my brother's ass because he was OBSESSED with the app 'words with friends.' We are all guilty of it but for me, personally, time to scale it back a bit.

Scaling it back means no phones at the dinner table, B's bath's, playing with her in our living room, etc...Giving Dom my undivided attention rather than talking to him while scrolling through gmail. It's just all about stopping for a second to focus on the people in my life and not what's flying all around me. Pretty sure I won't have missed too much if I login and read blogs 2 hours later than I thought I was going to. We need to bring back the true meaning of quality time with one another.

I know my life will only get 'busier' as this 2nd baby makes his/her arrival. It's a balance to maintain yourself, be a good mom, still socialize, etc...but I'm going to do it. Without 24 hours of technology in my life.

It's a bit hypocritical of me to claim this while writing this blog, eh? Worth mentioning I'm sitting at JFK airport waiting to catch a flight home from a work trip, so I suppose in this instance it's okay. I don't think it's necessary for me to do any stripping here...

All about B.

Even though this was technically Brooklyn's 2nd Christmas, it was a first for us on many levels. Given that she was just about 3 1/2 months old last year we really didn't do much in the way of gifts, etc...This year, however, it was all about B.

She looks deceptively innocent in her Christmas dress. Please, don't let her fool you. Here is a special project she worked on during the Christmas break. It was called Operation destroy the kitchen.

Having a little one allows you to watch all the cheesy cartoons (although we did when she wasn't here too), decorate more, make christmas cookies, put up more lights, go look at lights, buy more gifts, and just love on the idea that her little imagination is about to embark on years to come of Santa and the North Pole, reindeer landing on the roof, her daddy reading Twas the Night before Christmas, and me, teaching her lines from classics, like Christmas vacation.

We spent Christmas Eve at my mom & dad's house, as I have every December 24th of my entire life. I don't know if next year we can swing that having her and a little baby in tow but whether it be at their house or ours I'm sure we'll spend it together.

We opened gifts.

We played in new castles.

We read new books.

We made breakfast with Grandpa:

We had a wonderful Christmas.

This definitely sucks.

Brooklyn's school handed us a letter yesterday that informed us it will be closing on:

December 23, 2009.

Next week. Next Wednesday. Done. I took her to her classroom, got back in my car and cried like a big baby. I loved her school, her teachers, the curriculum, the LOCATION. I couldn't believe it but at the end of the day it was this stupid economy's fault. Their enrollment had dropped 25% in the last year which totals about $600k in revenue over a years time. They just explained that many parents had been laid off and no longer needed to have someone look after their little ones. Sucks all the way around. But the timing, the timing REALLY sucked. And the notice? Ahem, what notice?

I suppose there was not much to be done there though. Had they given us more of an advance we would have yanked our kids out earlier and they would have gone into even more debt.

So, news broke. It sucked. I cried.

Put my big girl pants back on and realized this was a solvable problem. We got on the phone and secured a few places that had 1 or 2 openings in her age classroom and as of this morning my husband had already toured, got reviews, and wrote a registration check. Crisis averted, I suppose. The location is on his way to work, not mine, but it will only really be inconvenient when he travels. The school is very well known for having a great program put together and he seems to think that she'll do great there. Mama still needs to pay a visit just to double check but I think we got lucky. There are 150 stray kids that need a new home now and I know we got in this new school right in time.

When I first got used to the idea of Brooklyn being in someone elses care I still had crazy anxiety that it would all be okay. After a few weeks it was, and I never looked back. We're starting over again and I'm sure it will all work out just fine.

It could always be worse and I know this. I could be having to figure out how to cover the $900k that Kids R Kids is now in debt, but someone else has that worry this holiday season. And that, my friends, REALLY sucks.

Face plant.

You should see the other kid...

Okay, okay. So technically Brooklyn got in a fight with the pavement, not another kiddo. She was pushing something at school that decided to take off without her and the first thing to hit the ground was that poor little nose of hers. Ouch!

Cheesy McCheester, and then some.

Yes I did change my blog background for Halloween, and yes I did it again for November, and oh I cannot wait for the Christmas holiday. It just might sing and light up - Griswold is in the house.

Raise your hand if you like cheesy!

Anywho - I felt like I was on a roll with posting, a couple posts a week is 'on a roll' in my world. Then bam, fell off a cliff, hit a wall, thinking I am lame and have nothing fun to say. That always bring me back to why I started this here blog in the first place, to keep my grandma (Nana) updated with pictures and stories of Brooklyn. So, as the new saying goes, "when you hit a wall, post for grandma." (More cheese!)

We had a great Halloween, although it came and went as quick as it started. Brooklyn was a pumpkin but wasn't interested. We took her to a pumpkin parking lot patch but she wasn't too interested in that either. The bean bag toss, however, ding ding ding - we have a winner.

Sunday of this last weekend we took her a new park just build near our house and I learned that my child literally has NO FEAR. I knew this already I think but it was 100% confirmed. With no help from her us she flew down the slide. There I was too, ready and waiting to help and be the hero/safety net. Who are you? GET OUT MY WAY!

I should clarify something. She has no fear but she is aware of crazy. And how to stay away from it. Demonstrated in the below pictures, she is all to aware of the weirdo behind the big dog head. "Hmmm, he's not Mickey or any of his friends, Pooh, a Disney Princess...STRANGER DANGER!" That's my girl.

Okay Nana, hope you enjoyed the update. I'll be back soon, mwah!

HATS.

Her latest obsession. And yes, that last one is a camouflage hat, compliments of her Uncle. And yes, she only has on a diaper and socks. At least she's trying to accessorize!

Shoes

I love shoes. I do. I mean I LOVE SHOES like I could marry them type of love. You can have on any outfit, put on the right pair of heels, flip flops, boots, wedge, sandal, and ta-da, you are FABULOUS.

I also firmly believe they set a tone. If you walk into a room with a rockin' pair of heels on people notice them and it says confidence. If you have on a wedge that is classy, but soft, you look sophisticated yet relaxed. Flip flop - lazy, fun, carefree, and ready to drink some beer. Boots mean the seasons are changing and it's time for some comfy sweaters and fantastic accessories. Shoes are awesome people, AWESOME.

That's why I owe 65+ pairs. Some of you may gasp because you think what the hell, that is too many and others may gasp and think oh my god that poor girl has no shoes. Whatever side you are on, just know that I know you have your own vices, mkay?

Insert life change - I had a daughter.

What does this mean? MORE SHOES!!! Her very first pair were a little ballerina slip-on that were leopard print with a tiny pink bow. Let's see, as a newborn she wore them NEVER. Because no one told me as a new mom that those things would not stay on unless you superglued them to their tiny little feet. They are proudly on display in her room though. Next in line is pair of pink cowboy boots that I bought while pregnant that she can't wear until she's about 2 - whatever, minor detail. She got a pair of black patent dress shoes for her first Christmas pictures. When I put them on with her dress they just didn't work so she went barefoot and those were worn NEVER. Over the summertime I bought her flip flops with a strap on the back. Worn NEVER because she was too fascinated with the piece that went between her toes, apparently she couldn't walk. What is the damn deal? When is my daughter going to learn that being stylish isn't always easy. GAWH!

Okay Brooklyn grandma - let's go for functional. I broke down and bought several pairs of Robeez, which while definitely functional they are not so cute. I mean, unless her boot cut jeans cover half of them up. But, they worked, she walked in shoes, and we're all good.

She's had those for several weeks and I decided last night with her upcoming fall festival, trip to see her Uncle this weekend, and the holidays around the corner we need to graduate back into fashionista. I bought her two pairs of boots and some fun sneakers for schools. The boots fa-reak-ing rock.

I put the black pair on her this morning with some leggings and I swear she stood there frozen, then picked up each leg as if I had tied a concrete block to the bottom of her foot. FINE! Robeez it is but when we get home the boots are back on for practice.

Judging me yet, I thought so. ;)

Trust me, I want what's best for my daughter, I really do. And what's best, is good taste in shoes. There is hope, though, as she loves my closet and tries to put mine on all the time. Except we really have to work on that look. She looks like she wants to choke somebody.

Sigh, baby steps.

Bad Hair nap

I feel ya girl, bad hair days suck.

On my birthday we...

Looked adorable...

Ate lots of yummy food...

Enjoyed delicious cupcakes!

Opened lots of presents...

Enjoyed time with friends and family...

Had an awesome day!