To catch up a bit, Reagan now has five teeth! FIVE! Needless to say, she hasn't slept well lately, and you can correctly assume I have not slept well either. According to what I've read, cutting teeth is more painful at night and babies want to nurse more often in an attempt to alleviate the pain. She doesn't just wake up in the middle of the night like she used to with her little kicks and whining. She wakes up screaming. Every 30 minutes to an hour. All night long. It's awesome.
On Saturday we went to my mom's for a jewelry party. For weeks Reagan has worked on her crawling technique. She gets up on all fours, then down on her belly. She gets up and pushes back with her arms and goes down to her belly. It seemed like it was going to happen any day. So after church yesterday, she came to a decision. Hands and knees just aren't her bag. She was prone on the living room floor and army crawled to the television remote a foot or more away.
She looks like she's trying to avoid live fire. She pulls herself along with her hands and arms while pushing with her feet and knees. I've heard of babies doing this, but I never thought my baby would be an army crawler. Her daddy wasn't home yesterday, so he got his first glimpse of the baby in motion this morning. It just seems like such a waste of energy. She looks like she's trying so hard and getting up on hands and knees is much more efficient. Oh well, who am I to tell her how to crawl?
So now we enter phase two - the mobile baby. I was hoping she would wait another month or so. Mobility is great, but it's highly overrated. What could be better than a perfect little angel baby sitting in the same spot you left her 5 minutes before? I would never quash her development as she gains independence, confidence and new abilities. It's hard on a mom who knows our time together is limited and sees every achievement with boastful pride and a glimmer of sadness.
I had a birthday this week. This is the first time Chris has been home for my birthday and he took me to lunch. We tried a new place on Daniel Island (Ali Baba) and then I accompanied him on a site check for the Race for the Cure at the Family Circle Cup stadium. Back at work I found out two people were let go. I wasn't one of them, so it could be worse, but it's not good. It means that the economic state of the area is continuing to decline. It's hitting too close to home for my taste, but what can I do?
I mentioned to a co-worker that I wasn't sure whether I should be super-motivated or totally unmotivated. I have responsibilities to my husband and my children and that means I need to be doing everything possible to keep from losing my job. However, Betty (one of the seemingly unnecessary employees) was great at her job and went out of her way to make herself useful. What hope is there for me? My supervisor told me yesterday that as of now, we are all on an equal playing field. No one does job that is more important than anyone else. Hard to believe. One of us will have to be moved from our office and into the front office. None of us wants to move. Having seen personnel move into the front office and be fired makes me feel like it's the gateway to dismissal. I've enjoyed having my own office for almost a year now. I can use my breast pump at my leisure. People wander in and out of the front office all day and it's very distracting. I was in the front office at one point, but was upgraded to a shared office and ultimately an office of my own. I don't want to be downgraded.
I was notified that I will be absorbing Betty's duties as purchasing officer. I only have a slight understanding of all that entails. I have never been a purchasing officer, nor do I see it as a direction in which I am prepared to move. However, I am being dropped in head first. We will find out tomorrow who pulled the short straw to move into the front office. I am none too excited. I am here to do a job for a company to which I am indifferent. I guess it's about time I start caring since my responsibilities are multiplying!
My hair is damaged. I've tried different colors in my hair since high school and I have to blow dry or it's unruly. So the combination of chemicals and heat has really done a number on my thin, fine hair. Living in the Lowcountry means there is constant humidity with which to contend. All these things contribute to my frizz.
In the past, I would style my hair just right and throughout the day it would go south. If was raining, it wouldn't last through my walk to the car! I didn't think I really had a choice in the matter since I'd put up with it for so long. It was understood that bad hair days were not my fault and that's the way the chips fell for me. But all that's behind me.
At Target on Saturday, I was looking through the array of serums, sprays & styling cremes when my eyes fell on the Frizz-Ease line by John Frieda. I've used the line of Sheer Blonde shampoos and conditioners, but I always thought Frizz-Ease was for people with curly hair. I'm glad I gave them a second look. In a toss-up between Frizz-Ease Heat Defeat Protective Styling Spray and the Straight Fixation Smoothing Creme, I chose the spray. The label on the creme says it's "lightweight" but I worry that products will weigh down my strands and make them too oily.
I'm so happy with this product! I wash, towel dry, spritz with miracle spray, blow dry & style to get a perfect coif (in my opinion) that stays perfect throughout the day! Even my co-workers noticed a difference. Yesterday was a rainy day and my hair maintained it's style ALL DAY. Amazing. I cannot speak for the rest of the line, but if this worked for me, I suggest you give any of the Frizz-Ease products a try.
Ah, Halloween. It's never been a favorite time of year for me. The candy is great, don't get me wrong, but playing dress-up was something we did year-round as kids, so it was no big deal. I became more involved in Halloween when I had my own baby to clothe in fantastical garments, and I really started to love it last year.
My friend (also my co-worker) was telling me she needed to get "Boo bags" ready because she'd been "Boo-ed". It sounded crazy until she explained and it changed my view of Halloween.
If you're a mom, you probably know all about Boo-ing, but maybe not. Here's the Readers Digest version: create "Boo bags" (containing candy, treats, pencils, etc.), find a poem online or create your own, make signs, and pass out to neighbors. To get the ball rolling last year I made five. I was so excited when I got Boo-ed back! Here's the poem I use with instructions for your neighbors to continue the fun:
The air is cool, the season fall
Soon Halloween will come to all
This is the time for goblins and bats
Spooks and spirits and ghosts and cats
The ghosts are after things to do,
In fact, a ghost brought this to you!
“BOO” is a shield from witching hour
Just hang it up and watch its power
To yield the power, pick three friends sweet
And give them each a Halloween treat
Neighbors will have smiling faces
None will know who “BOO-ed” whose places!
Just one short day to work your spell,
But keep it secret! Hide it well!
Join in the fun, the season’s here.
So spread these “BOOs” and share the cheer!!
Here are the next steps:
-Enjoy your treat!
-Place the BOO sign on your door, on a visible front window, or tape it to a stick and place in the yard. This will prevent the ghost from returning to your home.
-Make three copies of this note and the BOO signs. You can even make your own BOO signs to pass along!
-Make treat bags or BOO baskets
-Secretly deliver to three neighbors without a BOO
-Watch the BOOs spread until Halloween!
And here's the sign I'm using this year (from organizedchristmas.com):
http://organizedchristmas.com/printable/halloween-boo/halloween-boo-sign-colorful
Basically you make little gift bags and give them to your neighbors with a fun poem explaining the tradition and a sign for their door so other neighbors will know they've already been treated. I like to give candy and cookie cutters in little Halloween bowls. This year I'm giving small candles too (for the parents). What I like best is not knowing who Boo-ed you. It's a special secret for each family to know to whom they gave treats. I'll be giving out my treats tonight! I'm so excited! If your neighborhood doesn't "Boo", then what better reason to start? Happy Halloween!!
What should I do? Okay, it's morbid to talk about this, but it also shows I'm a responsible parent. Well, if I could make up my mind I'd be a responsible parent. We really need to sit down and write out a will. How do people do this? How do you choose a person to raise your child in the event of a tragedy? I don't want someone else to raise my kids! I don't think anyone else could do it as well as I can. Chris thinks it should come down to our parents, but that's not a good option for me.
I won't go into all the details of my childhood, but I don't want my girls to grow up the way I did. My parents grew up on farms and my childhood was a result of their childhoods. I would venture to say I had a better life than they did, but it wasn't what I wished for. Let me be clear that there was no kind of abuse. My parents are good people, but I feel like they didn't really help me on my journey. Besides, we don't agree on a lot of things when it comes to the girls.
That's part of my problem with the in-laws as well. I am not a perfect parent. I make the best choices for my babies and my decisions are informed. I've only been a parent for about two and a half years, but I'm a parent to two small children in 2009. They are the parents of adult children in 2009. And people have mentioned that grandparents don't treat grandchildren as their children - they treat them better. Ugh. If they'd only listen to me when I tell them don't give them things because it's a choking hazard or their little tummies can't handle that certain food, etc. They think they know better than me because they already raised two kids - well listen up! I survived so I could be a better parent than you! We have more information. We have the internet! We use car seats!! Gahhh!
So back to this will thing... um, yeah, I don't know either.
