Happy 2013!

Can you believe how fast 2012 went?! I feel like Munchie was born just yesterday... but now that the year is over and we've moved onto writing 2013 on everything, I realize that I have to start planning my baby's first birthday party! Yowza! Talk about a reality check!

This year we put together a family newsletter. Well, I put one together. :) It was all I could do to get hubby to agree that it might be good to let people know how we've been. Lol. But it was nice to write out some of the events of this past year. I'd like to make it a yearly thing... if nothing else but for my own benefit. But hopefully this next year I can finish it before the last minute rolls around. Literally! I finished the 2012 'year in review' letter the morning of Christmas!

Resolutions - I used to make resolutions... but then like almost every other person out there, I'd break them before the snow began to melt. So I'm trying to be realistic this year. Here is what I'd like to do:

Digital - There are a lot of things that I want to do, but I know that I can't do all of them. Yes, I have come to that conclusion. Now, if only I could get my brain to remember that. :) I do know that I need to keep up with the latest trends and keep my design skills up to date. So that is one of my goals this year. I don't have a set amount or time to put toward this goal. I'm really just leaving it open-ended. But I do need to work on some designs in my free time ('free time' - what's that?! Lol!).

Caffeine - I'm addicted to Starbucks. It's a problem. And my Christmas shopping experiences this year didn't help...every trip out warranted a Venti treat for me. Lol! So I need to work at limiting my treats to myself. I got a couple really nice travel mugs this year for Christmas, so coffee from home is my goal. Not to say that I won't enjoy a cup or two at the famous coffee spot, but that's all it will be... one or two a month. I think that's doable. :)

Domestic - I'm a busy working mom and it's been difficult to maintain the house along with taking care of my hubby and baby, keeping dinner on the table, getting laundry done, etc all while working a full-time job. Needless to say, I haven't done a fabulous job in any of these areas. I really would like to be better at maintaining the house, pre-planning meals (so that I'm not digging through the cupboards at the last minute trying to figure out something to make for dinner), and staying on top of my own messes (ie stacks of magazines, to-do quilts, letters to write). I think it'll make my hubby happier and teach Munchie the importance of taking pride in one's home.

Spending - Along with my coffee-splurges, I have been a little free with general spending. Even though we are a dual-income family, I really need to be better at living under a single-income household. Hubs has been doing so well at putting extra on the house and I have been paying for all the other necessities. But I haven't limited my fun spending. If we need clothes or a fun meal or new shoes or there's a sale on fabric, etc then I don't hesitate to spend a little more that month. But this year I'm going to be extra careful on limiting those extra purchases.   

Motherly Duties - My daughter is growing up way too quickly. And she is proving her smarts at an increasing rate. So I have my work cut out for me. It is important for me to teach her young and teach her well and while this is quite scary for me, I can't just sit back and wish it not so. Thus, I need to get on the train and figure out some good things for us to do together - constructive things, but fun at the same time.

So there are some of my to-dos for this year. I tried to keep them simple, but they are all necessary. Here's to a good 2013! Happy New Year!

Joy in the midst of national sadness

There is a lot of pain around us this year... one week before Christmas. We all feel for the families in Connecticut. It would be heart-wrenching to lose a child or family member at any time of the year. But to lose them so close to Christmas and all the holidays that happen at this time of year... so incredibly sad! I couldn't even imagine it. I'm finding it hard enough to get in the spirit of the season as it is. And that's just from being exhausted from my crazy active child and working and shopping and church stuff and and and... I really have no excuse though because there is plenty to be thankful for. I am truely blessed! I really need to be acting like it.

This poem is going through emails and I wanted to share it. I also wanted to make sure I keep it somewhere where I can review it when I'm feeling down or when in the off-chance I have the news on and they are talking about the details surrounding the events at Newtown (or any past or future mass shooting).

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38 

when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.

Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

They were filled with such joy; they didn't know what to say.

They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

“where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

“This is heaven" declared a small boy. "We’re spending Christmas at God's house”.

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,

but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.

Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.

And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring

those children all flew into the arms of their King

and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had

He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad.

“then He looked down on earth, the world far below

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe,

then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,

“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!

“May this country be delivered from the hands of fools”

“I’m taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!

“Then He and the children stood up without a sound.

“Come now my children let me show you around.

“Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.

All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

“in the midst of this darkness,” I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

 Author not known. 

Whomever wrote this is fabulous! I know that it's not so easy to feel or express joy in the midst of so much sadness. But it is an Amazing God we serve and He still reigns! Satan may have feel he has won a small tiny little battle. But we can all take comfort in the fact that our Heavenly Father WILL win the war!

20 little souls are now with Him. And I pray that the adults had a relationship with Him as well.

Hug your loved ones! And never let go. (Spoken figuratively of course) :)

9 months!

I find it funny when I get certain emails every week. They state how old my child is and what their accomplishments should be. For normal children, these may come in handy. But really, what truely is 'normal'?

According to these emails, my child is not.

Take this week's for instance...

 

Munch has been doing this for over a month now. She started actually taking steps on her own just before she turned 8 months.

I'm a proud mama of this little lady. She takes initiative. She's quick to learn something and then move on to better things. She figures out how to get places and what the best route is. She knows what she's allowed to touch, and where she's allowed to go with or without help.


In other words... she keeps mama busy!

"Outside Mommy"

No, she's not quite talking yet. Well, she's said "mama", "dada" and "puh" (puppy). But she's still enjoying just babbling. But I know that if Munchie could talk, she'd be saying "outside mommy, outside"... ALL... THE... TIME!!

This kid LOVES being outside. She loves playing in the grass...

watching cars drive by...

checking out the birds...

playing in the leaves...

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do when it starts snowing! Guess I'll need to get the child a nice warm snowsuit, cus she'll want to be out exploring the white stuff too.

But for now, we'll just enjoy this nice fall weather!

The 8 Month Mark

We're coming up on Munchie's 8-month mark and I think back to how quickly this little girl has grown. I know that all too soon she'll be driving and liking boys and going to college.

Sigh.

I mean, it seems like yesterday that I was holding her in my arms and she weighed less than 7 lbs. Now she's crawling and standing and walking (yup, she's taken 2 steps several times now! Completed a single step on Sunday and that just wasn't good enough... now she's gotta master more!). She's just growing up way too quickly!

But I get these emails every week on the development of your child... so where they should be at 7 months and 3 weeks, etc. Now I know that every child is different and there are many kids that aren't even close to meeting 'the average' of where most kids are at about this age... but look at this: I just got this installment for her 8 month mark. This is what it said:

Sitting? Pulling up to a stand? REALLY?

 

Our crazy child has been doing that for months now! And she learned quickly how to ease herself to the ground once she was up on her feet. I'd say that she's a smart baby, but then people would just say "of course you have to say that, you're her mom!". But honestly, this kid must have her daddy's smarts, because she is too smart for even me!

Silly child! But boy do I love her!

This kid doesn't sit still for a second!

A Quick Trip

Munchie, Nani and I went on a very quick trip.

We flew down to Albuquerque for the day to see my best friend and attend her baby shower. We found some great flight deals and had to pounce on them! Plus, it gave us an excuse to get away for awhile, to test Munchie out on how well she'd fly, and did I mention I got to go visit my best friend?!

Kay and her wonderful hubby are expecting a boy in mid-October.
I'm so very excited for them!

Munch loved joining in on the fun too. She did great dealing with all the excitement and craziness of the traveling and partying and tons of people. She even helped Kay unwrap a couple gifts (sorry Kay!). :)

 

It was a quick trip. We left at 8am and were home not even 10 hours later. We had some plane trouble, but PTL we made it safely and were able to enjoy ourselves and see our friends before heading back to the airport.

 

Munchie did GREAT! 

 What a fun trip! We'll definitely have to do it again sometime. :)

 

Childproofing - part 1

I've been doing a little research on child proofing the house. Since our little Munchie is mobile and into EVERYTHING!, I figured it was about time to do a little safety-research and get some things put in around the house - gates, locks, outlet covers, etc.

Gates - I figure this is one of the biggest things we need right now. We have one long set of stairs and I'd hate for her to follow the puppy right off the edge of the top step. It'd be a loooong way down. Hubs doesn't want to drill holes into the walls though, so I've been trying to look at all the options. There are some netting-style gates that retract back into themselves. The benefit of this is that you don't have the bulk of a regular gate being in the way all the time. The issue I don't like about it is that then you teach the kids to lean into the netting... I can just see the screen doors being tormented in the future.

Door locks - specifically for the kitchen cabinets. I really love the magnet ones! Need to look for a sale. :)

Outlet covers - we were given a set of the little plastic pieces that you fit into the outlet holes. I've read though that these can be dangerous, esp for a crafty little mind like Munch has. Kids supposedly can pull them off and the plastic pieces can break, posing a choking risk. So... what to do! I need to ask Hubs about replacing the outlet covers with those ones that slide open and closed.

Then there are all the other safety things you don't really think about. Here are some of them:

Dishwashers - Parents Magazine listed dishwashers as a danger for young kids. Why? Well, because they give kids easy access to sharp forks and knives. And the detergent can be extremely harmful to baby's skin.
So what do you do? Use SHAKLEE!! It's natural, safe, and effective!
We honestly don't run the dishwasher too often. I find it easier to just wash the dishes as they go into the sink. But for the instance that we do load up the dishwasher, I have the Shaklee Dish Washer Automatic concentrate and I love it! I also use the Dish Wash Concentrate and I will never use anything else to wash my dishes, grimy hands, etc again! It is one of my favorite Shaklee products EVER!

One of my favorite products EVER!

Kitchen Ranges - Parents Magazine says that improperly installed ranges may tip or fall forward, causing a pan of boiling water to fall on top of your toddler. Personally, I think we overdo it on the anti-tip brackets. I mean, I know that Munchi will keep me on my toes, but she needs to learn that she can't be climbing on things. But we'll see how that goes. Lol. :P
We can take this warning as a reminder to keep pot and pan handles pointed in rather than out for little hands to reach up and grab. We can check the heat of the oven door to make sure they can't get burned if they accidentally lean on the door while something is baking in the oven.

Hand-Me-Downs - always always a good idea to check and double check used gear, clothing, toys, and furniture! You never know if the straps are torn, cords are exposed, stuffing is coming out, seams are tearing, or things are broken or cracked. Also, old items might be painted with the dreaded-poisonous lead-based paints! (I say this partially serious and partially sarcastic... we all grew up with that nasty stuff and we turned out alright... right?)

Other household things - we all love our stuff. We love our tools, electronics, phones, toys, magazines, makeup, plants, etc etc. There are so many things that we adults use that we don't think might be a danger to our little ones. It's funny to think of getting down and crawling around on the floor to look for potentially dangerous gaps, cracks, and items, but it is extremely important to do so. Esp for parents of active, curious, into-everything little ones like Munch!

So here's to baby proofing - smartly, consciously, and not overdoing it with all the unneeded extras. :)