Another year gone by

Time flies, when you're having fun... and yes, motherhood is all that, plus more.

Can't believe the offspring is already 4.

Here's a picture....

Years go by...

Gosh, has it really been so long? Really? I now have a charming three-year-old who talks up a storm, runs around, loves our cat, her "guinea pig" (a stuffed red bull) named "Ash-el-ly" (yes, three syllables).

I do miss blogging and my old friends. I don't miss the old days of infertility and wondering what life would be like as a mom.

I will check in more often. I promise. In the meantime, below is a picture...

"Rosie's mom"

These words are music to my ears, overheard when my three-year-old neighbor boy was describing me to his mom.

"Rosie's mom." 

Me. Little ole me. Someone's mom. Still thrills me. 

Rosie is now 16 months old, running around, saying words. Today she said our cat's name. Sorta. "Darky" for "Sharky." Cute as all get-out.

I'm still a stay-at-home-mom. Still loving it. Lots of play dates and activities. Just wish I had the money to go to all the music classes, etc. Happy price to pay for not having a paycheck anymore.

Here she is playing peekaboo.

~Jem

Getting in gear

Wow does it take a lot of stuff to raise a child. Diaper bag brims with it. We are packing to travel to Boston for a week to see Mr. Jem's mother. Packing is a bitch. What toys to bring to distract Rosie during the five hour flight? Will she sleep? How will we carry it all? Should I bring diapers or buy them there?

Better go to sleep. Big travel day tomorrow. Do like being back blogging. Missed you all.

~Jem

Life with a toddler

A reader asked to hear what it's like with a toddler at home. Here goes:

It's go-go-go the minute Rosie wakes. Big smile on her face. "Hi-ya!" she croons at me.

Her vocabulary is still quite limited at 13 months. Everything she likes is "Da-da" with Daddy being the self-professed president of the "Da-da Club." She does say mama, sometimes, but I think she's trying on new sounds. Her sound this week is "Dub-ya-dub-ya-dub-ya" like she's about to tell me her favorite website. Yes, it's very cute.

More cuteness? Even though she's a serious girl, she loves to laugh and has her own sense of humor. One day it will be the fly-swatter that will crack her up. Today it was mommy doing an impression of a chicken. Yes, those improve classes are really paying off.

What's not cute? The tantrums. Mostly because she can't yet articulate fully what she wants. She does point at things and grunt loudly to tell me she wants them. If I have to take something away from her she has a total meltdown. Tears, folding herself in half on the floor. It's actually kinda cute. "I understand you are mad you can't pull Sharky Kitty's tail." Sigh.

Almost a year ago I happily quit my job in the big city with the long commute and long hours. That's not to say that my days as stay at home mom aren't long. Au contraire!! 

Rosie wakes around 7:30 and will have one or two naps during the day. Every day I plan an activity for her/us. Since the weather is nice, we've been going to the park to play in the sand, climb the jungle-gyms and go down the slides. Often we'll meet up with other mom friends and their babies. We'll share sleep stories, talk about food our kids are eating, and more mom stuff.

Rosie goes down for the night around 7:30 p.m. after getting her ready for bed: brushing and flossing her six teeth, changing her diaper (disposables - I tried to do cloth, but failed), then story with daddy, then last story with me (this book) which I've read her every night for the past year. Then I sing her three songs: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" (with accompanying signs), followed by, "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and finishing with an enthusiastic rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Usually I nurse her to sleep. Tonight I didn't have to. She didn't like it at first, giving me a shriek of disbelief, but then settled in the crook of my arm and fell asleep. She will wake multiple times at night for a quick sip or two.

Yes, I'm still breast feeding - which was rough at first. Very rough. And I'm co-sleeping. It's so much easier to have her nurse for a couple of minutes and then roll over and go back to sleep than get up, etc. etc.

Okay, It's almost 11 p.m. and I need to go to sleep. I hope this gives you some insight into what life is like with Rosie. And I didn't even cover solid food, how she's walking and other milestones. 

In sum, it's all pretty amazing, my own real-life Unicorn farting rainbow of a life. Don't let any mom tell you otherwise. It's "all that" and more to be a mom. For you all still in the trenches, I send you my heartfelt best. This mom business has far surpassed my expectations.

Rosie is 13 months old & yes we are both still alive

Okay, I've been a terrible blogger...No posts since New Years? What the heck is wrong with me?

Let's just say that I don't get a lot of computer time and leave it at that.

I have missed you all. The past year has been amazing. Crazy, fun, tiring, and amazing. This picture should say it all.

Happy New Year

Yes we are still here and Rosie and I are loving life. Every day is a gift. Better than I ever imagined. Promise to post more in 2013.  Miss you all.

~Jem