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Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Top 10 Tuesday

I'm beyond excited to be blogging about this new mommy chapter of my life! It certainly takes the cake for being the best one yet! So without further ado, here is a list of the top 10 things you will find in my blog posts.

1) Spelling and grammar mistakes! I'm sorry in advance! I can promise that it will be readable, but I am not an English major by any means. I'm also a busy mom with an adorable little 10 month old who is very much on the go, so I'm bound to get distracted at times!

2) Gushing; I am so in love with my baby boy, he filled such a hole in my heart. I could talk about him all day, everyday. So a mommy blog is a perfect outlet for me!

3) Walt Disney World tips and tricks! We are planning our first family trip to WDW! I am a Disney Fanatic and I'm already in tears watching the planning DVD!  The thought of taking my babe on Dumbo for the first time is overwhelmingly emotional! (I'm more hormonal now then I was 8 months pregnant!!!)

4) Frugal Finds. I am a self admitted cheapskate! Okay, maybe not quite that bad, but I LOVE clearance racks, freebies, coupons and will not buy ANYTHING unless it's on sale! I will share with you how our family saves a buck! 

5) PINS!! What would we do without pinterest?! Seriously?! From party planning to sensory activities. Recipes to DIY projects. I will be sharing my Pinterest triamphs and fails! 

6) Mommy product reviews! When my fellow stretchmark mommies and I decided to go ahead and enter the blogosphere I decided I needed a new diaper bag pronto! I just purchased a Petunia Picklebottom bag to review! I'm so excited to start using it! 

7) Mommy must haves! Each stage brings new must have products for both you and your baby! I feel like each month I've had to go out and buy a whole slew of baby gear, some necessary some not! I will share with you some of our favourites! 

8) Pictures! I love capturing every sweet moment with my DSLR camera! I am no photographer and the pictures will be far from professional but I would love to share them with you! 

9) Hauls: I can't lie watching you tube hauls and reading/seeing hauls makes me really happy! I can't wait to start capturing ours for you! 

10) Last but not least! the best thing you can expect to see in my blog posts are random mommy thoughts and moments ! There are so many emotions that come with being a mom, so many milestones. From the hard times to the good times I will be sharing them here with you! 


Hope you are still with me and have decided to come along for the ride! I can't say enough good things about  my fellow stretchmark mommies. Maternity leave would not be anywhere near as fun without them. They also have AMAZiNG babies! 

C
XoXo

A whole year off?!

I remember the feeling I had when I walked down the hall at work on my last day before maternity leave.  Picture this: I’m waddling, very, very slowly, feeling such joy that I’m done!  Then, BAM … my sciatic nerve pinches, and I want to collapse to the ground and cry, but I carry on.  I’m getting out of here.  But now, I’m limping and waddling.  15 minutes later I’m out of the building (yes, it took that long to walk out of there) and I am not turning back, because I know that I have ONE FULL YEAR OFF!
 
Picture this, but add a large belly.  Oh, and I slow down the spinning.
Before you have your first baby, you actually do think that the year ahead of you is a year “off”.  I mean, you know it’ll be work and it’ll be hard, but you’re like “sweet 12 months off, b****es!”  Then, maternity leave begins.  You have this beautiful bundle of joy at home with you and you think, “I never want to go back to work”.  I swear I’ve said this to a lot of people.  A few months later, you start thinking “Wow, I just named the squirrel that comes to my window while I do the dishes.  I’m talking to Bernard the squirrel.  Holy moly, I need human social interaction”.  You can’t fully count on your hubby to fulfill this desire you have for social interaction, because he worked all day.  If I talk my husband’s ear off all night, as soon as he gets home, he’s just about killing me with his death stare that’s saying “Please, please, for the love of God, just stop talking”. 

I am however lucky enough to have found 3 mothers who are also on maternity leave and who feel the same way I do.  Our get-togethers keep me sane and informed on motherhood, and there is no judgment! 

And now, here we are writing to you about the ups and downs of this new life.  Our new life with a baby and our new life on maternity leave.  We are so incredibly lucky to have one year off with our little ones, but you can’t help but sometimes think: wouldn’t it be nice to go back to work and be around someone who responds to you when you speak?  Don’t get me wrong; I’m not ready for my little guy to discuss politics with me.  No ma’am!  But you really do start talking to yourself and looking like you belong in the loony bin after a while.  Enjoy our stories and findings about our quest for sanity and social interaction, and survival with our first little one, who we love oh so much! 


S






Mommy Dating

I remember after J was born, the first few weeks were a blur of sleep (or lack there of), nursing sessions, diaper changes and visitors.  Then things started to go back to "normal" (or whatever our new normal would be.)  My husband returned to work, the visitors slowed down and most of the time, I found myself alone with my precious bundle. 

So, when J was 6 weeks old I ventured out to my first play group.  Admittedly this was more for me then for him but I was desperate to meet other moms who would know exactly how I felt and what I was going through.  Don't get me wrong I have plenty of fabulous friends but I was the first of my group to get married and start a family.  So while I still love my pre-baby friends,  I wanted mommy friends.  And so began what I like to call mommy dating.  If you've been in my shoes you know what I'm talking about...


That summer I attended weekly play groups and met some amazing moms, a few of which became good friends.   However, it wasn't until the fall that I met the fabulous ladies I consider not only mommy friends but close friends.  I remember sitting there at mommy and me yoga when they came trickling in.  We started chatting and something seemed to click.  These girls were pretty fun and had adorable babies to boot.  I guess they decided I was alright too because they invited me to other mommy outings and the rest, as they say, is history!

They are my go-to for questions, worries, sharing milestones and just about anything else.  Our non-stop messenger chatter gets me through my days at home.  No matter what, they don't judge me.  Seriously, these ladies have seen my baby eat of the floor! (Do you know how hard it is to get a picky baby to eat?! At least the kid was finally eating.)  I am so thankful to have found them and I look forward to watching our babies grow together, first birthdays and so much more.  And of course we are excited to be sharing our journey with all of you!

Julie