diapers and skinny jeans

sofia on her birth day I've been reading a lot of birth stories lately, and for anyone that has had the chance to read ours , knows that it was anything but what Erick and I had planned for.  As great as it was, there were still some things that had initially bugged me.  But, as most new moms can tell you, sometimes it takes a while for feelings like these to surface.  I know that after I gave birth to Sofia, I found that I had ran on this "natural baby high" for a few months; it was only after re-reading other friends' stories, that had sparked these newly surfacing feelings of things I wish I had done differently. As I think ahead, I know that I want more children in the future.  The thought honestly scares me a bit because for the past hour I've been sitting here slowly realizing that I still need to make peace with birth before I ever even think  about having another baby.  I need to make peace with the fact that it's not the end of the world if y...

image by recoveringlazyholic via: flickr Here's to hoping we all have a few more lazy days in bed.  All this cold weather has been making it harder and harder for me to get out of my massive pile of blankets.  Did I mention I was getting a new all-white sheet set again soon?!! Thank you, Overstock.com.  :)   Our weekend was a lot of driving, but all-in-all we had a great family day.  I'll have more pictures up soon so, enjoy your Sunday friends.  Don't get up if you don't have to.  

Lately, certain tasks like working the same shift, eating the same crappy lunch, and wearing the same broken rainboots have really started to get on my nerves.  Sometimes I wonder why I let myself get mundane and ignore the fact that I continually do things I do not feel good about!  It's kinda like getting stuck in a rut, except you're purposely choosing to not care.   Today, I finally care enough.  I think.  I can't even look at that picture above without screaming to myself that I need to suck it up and just get a new pair of boots.  I mean, really.  Look at them!  I don't know what it is about it, but shoe shopping is one thing I love and hate all at the same time- I'll only really buy one nice pair of shoes a year and then just try and "skate by" and wear them, beaten up, for as long as I can.  I'm sure we all have that "one necessity" it's just hard for us to shell out the money for, regardless of how badly we need it. ...

Well we all know that vegans are freaks, but as Cherise Grifoni says, "even zombies and humans can coexist at the dinner table".  The minute I read the opening line of her new book , I knew I liked this girl!  So, what's the deal?  Am I going crazy vegan?  Am I really giving up bacon, hot dogs, and chicken wings?  The quick answer is no.  The more realistic answer is, I'm trying to be healthier and eat a little lighter and a little cleaner.  I have felt so exhausted, so run down and so... dense?  Haha.  Is that even a real feeling?  I don't know, but it sure felt like it to me lately.  I'm slow and I'm weighed down.  I know I'm not giving my body the proper fuel it needs to make it through the workweek, produce breast milk, or have enough energy to be a mom to my near 5 month old.   Burning good fuel (aka wholesome, clean food) will make me feel better in the long run, lose the last 20 pounds of this baby weight, a...

Well, I don't usually do this.  In fact, I wasn't sure I was going to post this at all but it's really worth a shot.  I don't want to give anyone a big long shpeal about anything, I just want to make it simple: This blog started and still remains a personal adventure, but my main goal outside of having a cool keepsake is to impact other people.  I want to inspire some other young moms.  I want to say, you know what?  You can change those diapers and wear your skinny jeans too.  It's okay to be yourself.  Life does change when you have a baby-- but it's always for the better.  And even if you lose yourself somewhere out there in the crazy motherhood panic, I want you to know that it's okay.  You'll come around.  You'll realize you never really lost yourself at all, you've been there all along. Through this past year I've gained a handful of followers, and even some readers around the globe.  I want to spread the word, I want t...

photo by berndt sjodsten via: here

I'll be honest.  I was a little worried about today.  I knew Erick's work schedule got messed up and left me and the baby alone on what was supposed to be our "family day" of the week.  I took some good advice from friends and thought to myself that I was just going to enjoy the day with my daughter.  Sounds too simple, right?  I thought that too, it seemed unsaid that, of course I would enjoy my day off with my daughter.   But when you're juggling your job, a messy house, an un-existent dating-life and so on... it gets to be more difficult to literally focus on one task.  To do nothing except enjoy this beautiful, chunky four month old I get to spend the day with. I was pleasantly surprised to find that when I focused on one thing, I was not only able to enjoy what I was channeling all my energy toward, but I also (somehow) was able to get more done than I thought I was able to!  I couldn't believe it. ...

Man, those FuzziBunz sure fit a lot better now!  She has gotten so chunky it's kind of ridiculous.  Everytime I see her thighs I want to take a huge bite!  (cue abby and ashley voice: is that weird?)   Probably the new, cutest, and my most favorite thing that Sof does now is everytime she starts to get tired she starts talking in these long, whiny, drawn out syllables.  I really need to catch this on video because Erick and I crack up everytime she does it.  Something about hearing her own voice like that puts her to sleep.

Have you ever wondered how to make your own baby food?  I found myself thinking the same thing last week when we started Sofia on solids.  Some people will tell you to wait til at least 6 months, and if your baby has been content on breastmilk or formula alone, then I also think it's best to wait.  Sofia, though, is about four and a half months old and was already tugging and biting at my boob, trying to hold her own bottle, staring longingly into our eyes as we ate our people-food and waking up in the middle of the night (when she's slept the night through since 4 weeks).  We knew something was going on.  Luckily, we got the OK from our awesome doctor to start solid food and I just so happened to have this amazing book from my cousin Jill.   We started Sofia with a simple, organic short grain rice (she hated it), so we have slowly been introducing simple purees.  Slowly being the key word, here; you're always going to want to wait around 3...

image via: asha susan

I'm not very good at hiding things that have been bothering me, in fact, I'm more like an open book. Emotions are broadcasted across my face on a continual basis. Sometimes, it's not pretty. I've been up and down with the stresses of being a new mom while working full time and as hard as it is, I've been able to keep my head above water. Yesterday was the first time that I've ever felt like I was sinking. I'm not used to feeling so absolutely helpless to the way my life was stomping all over me. I've made such an effort to keep track of my time and put it to better use, yet still it's like I get slapped in the face by the fate that just happens to roll through. Maybe I'm being tested? One thing I know now, is that I am aware of my limits. My breaking points. Last night, I reached an all time low. Today, I stand taller. It can only go up from here.

Katherine over at Gathered Heart inspired me to do the Twelve by 2012!  We're running short on time before the end of the year, so here is my official submission.  I think it's pretty attainable and will definitely be doing a recap this time next year! ;)  What would your twelve things be?  Let's keep this going! ** EDIT ** Typo!  By multipule I totally meant multiple.  Sorry guys! ;)

Alright guys, here's a confession-  I need a little clarity with this blog.  It has really taken a back seat to just about everything in my life lately, yet, it's one of my favorite things to take the time to update!  Something has got to give.  I'm going to make more of a concious effort to stop being unmotivated regardless of how many hours I'm putting in at my job.  Being unmotivated sucks.  And really, I'm at my last straw! Speaking of things that I've been sitting on my haunches with... I am so glad none of you have ever had to come visit me at my place- it's a mess.  Seriously.  It's the 'clutter everywhere', dishes in the sink, dirty floored, piles of junk, messy, messy house that I'm ashamed to say I'm raising a family in at the moment.  This "lack of motivation" bug that I caught seems to hit me a couple times throughout the months and I'm at the point where I'm bursting out of my seams to get things right thi...

Isn't this absolutely stunning? I fell head over heels when I saw this gorgeous wedding over on gather to keep today. The photos turned out wonderful, too! If you want to see more of those, you can head right here.

This is one of  those  weekends. The weekend where I don't see my husband on our day off together. Sometimes I really hate change. I hate when I get so used to the luxury of a Saturday together and then for whatever reason we pick up a shift at work, or have somewhere else to be.   I ate brunch with Sofia alone.  They brought my hazelnut latte and I sipped it slower than normal, staring at the empty seat across from me.  I thought about how limited Erick and I's days together really are right now. I thought about when the last time was that we even took a night off, a night out, sipping micheladas over a noisy crowd and laughing at our own jokes.  I know we'll get there. As it gets closer to the holidays, it only spirals busier and busier out of control, so we may as well plan ahead. Which reminds me- I have a great post to write about planning. (and we all know I'm not very good at that...)  Thanks for continuing to stop by...

It has been absolutely crazy with work lately gearing up for some cool things to launch, so I've been a little absent on the blog lately.  About the only thing I have done has been updating the instagram.  I'll have a cool new home to showcase those photos hopefully in the next couple of weeks.  I have been hard at work at a few blog side-projects to feed my creative hunger.  I'll be sure to keep you all posted. How have you been enjoying this unusually warm fall weather?  Our family still has to visit a pumpkin farm, go apple picking at an orchard, and take pictures at the morton arboretum to complete our "to do list".  Spending the maximum amount of time outside was our number one goal (especially since we didn't get a chance to do that this summer!)  Thank goodness for the reasonable weather!

photo via:  here

I totally can't wait to take those lovely tomatoes I bought at the farmer's market and scramble up some eggs with mozzarella cheese.  I've been on quite the health/yoga/better-eating kick lately and I really hope it sticks! (Plus, I know my reflection in the mirror could say the same thing.) Haha. There are quite a few people I know running the chicago marathon tomorrow, so good luck to you all!  You inspire me to do the same someday.  I'll get there.

During our Wednesday we: - found out Sofia can roll over to her back! - ate brunch at Tweet - mastered the bottle-feeding-while-drinking-coffee move - went out in public with my hair like that - played peek-a-boo at AlleyCat Comics (laughing ensued...) - got our first round of vaccines (and didn't even cry!) - took a trip to the Andersonville farmer's market - noticed Sof's hair is starting to grow back again The weather has been so strange lately, hasn't it?  People must think I'm nuts because I'll wear a winterish coat in the AM because it's cold, then step out for lunch and have it be near 80 degrees!  But despite the um... uniquely... warm autumn we're having, we took full advantage of the warm weather this Wednesday.  I had such an amazing time with my people, our little baby is getting super chunkified and please.  Let's just bask in the handsomeness that is my husband f...