XYZ: The Wengers Are Out

Peek-a-BOO!

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:54:00 +0000

Claire is a genius. She started doing this a few days ago but Danny didn't think it was legit until she played it with him. Behold: Claire plays a mean game of peek-a-boo the day before she turns 5 months old.

Publish Post

99.9% Delicious AND Nutritious

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:00:00 +0000

What a day. Took Danny to school, went to Target, brought Danny his lunch, brought hot chocolate and a muffin to a sick friend, bought 80 kids books from a gal off Craigslist (for 20 bucks!), squeezed in some work, some lunch, some snuggles, designed a Christmas card for the world's pickiest sister (who I love dearly) and made Oatmeal Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies for Danny's awesome boss who drops him off at home on days I take the car.

Whoa. Needless to say, we ordered pizza tonight.

Now, I'm a gal who loves to cook. Mostly that's because I love to eat, but it's also a creative outlet for me. HOWEVER I do not love making dinner anymore. Claire is the sweetest most pleasant baby in the world until 3:00 pm. At this point in the day she demands to be held. It's caused me come up with a new marketing campaign for my kitchen/dinner table.

Wenger's UnHappy Hour

Come On Over For a FREE Migraine and All-You-Can-Eat Take Out.

3:00 - 5:30 pm School Days

On days when I'm stubborn and determined to make dinner or a treat despite her mood I put her in my Bjorn baby carrier and go about my dinner-making business. She likes to sit in it facing out so she can see what's going on. If only she could talk she could tell me what's going on since her head blocks my view. I have to stand sideways so that I can see the cutting board and the knife that's about to chop off my appendages. I have to stand on my tip-toes and lean forward to see over her head and into pots I'm stirring. I believe I've mentioned that Claire drools....a lot.

BOTTOM LINE: Those rarely seen homemade meals are not only delicious and nutritious, but they may also contain trace amounts of baby drool.

Dinner guests, ye be warned.

Now who wants some of those fabulous cookies Claire helped me to make?

Christmas Wishlist

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:56:00 +0000

It seems like Christmas brings out the greediness in me because I always seem to want everything. However, I have narrowed our family's worldly wants down to a few things at the top of our lists.

Claire

Jane Yolen "How Do Dinosaurs....." books
These books are adorable. We already have "...Go To School," "...Get Well Soon," and "...Say Good Night.," I'd love to collect the entire set for Claire (and later children). They teach kids how to behave appropriately in different situations like going to the doctor, eating their dinner, getting ready for bed.

Doreen Cronin "Click, Clack, Moo" and "Duck" books
This is another set I'd love to have. These books are hilarious. You should check them out if you've never seen them before.
Other good kids books
Clothes (this girl is wearing 9 month + clothes! I can't keep up with her)
Fleece Pajamas
Cheap Umbrella Stroller

Danny

XBOX 360 RPG's. (he seems to think I'm buying him an XBOX for Christmas...)
A cheap digital watch with a stopwatch feature
money to go toward different fitness classes he wants to take

Jacquee

Le Creuset Enamaled Cast-Iron Cookware (anybody want to be my Daddy Warbucks?) Don't worry, I'm willing to settle for a nice set of Stainless Steel until we're Rollin' in the Dough
Piano Music (Regina Spektor, Ben Folds and other fun stuff)
Piano playing skills that magically pop into my head
A decent set of loaf pans
A Grain Mill for my Bosch
A maid

Count Your Blessings and Grab a Tissue

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:24:00 +0000

I wandered over to Heidi Skidmore's blog this morning. She is my sister's sister-in-law. They lost their youngest son to complications from a congenital heart defect (CHD) back in August when he was only 6 months old. Her story was mentioned in an article talking about therapeutic blogging for mom's with sick or terminally ill children.

It's a great article talking about the connections we can make through blogging. It's also a great reminder to be grateful for what you have. Nothing can put your own trials and hardships in perspective like seeing someone else's.

What a Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:27:00 +0000

We had a great weekend. I was pleasantly surprised by the drop in temperature. Who knew Texas could get below freezing before winter even sets in? And snow flurries on Friday had the whole town buzzing with excitement and talking about "snow."

Dear Central Texas,

Flurries don't count as snow.

Sincerely,
The Rest of the Continental United States

The cold weather did prompt a fun little project for Claire's benefit: baby leg warmers. They keep her legs warm and don't make me crazy when I try to change the diaper on her wiggly buns. Onesie snaps are annoying enough without pulling pants off and on.

I had been sick and down and out ALL WEEK and Friday was no exception. We stayed in, ordered some Indian food and watched a movie.

Saturday we ventured out and I was feeling pretty good most of the day. We went to our ward breakfast then we window-shopped at the Round Rock outlets before coming home and feeding the missionaries.

All that hustle and bustle kept me in bed on Sunday but we enjoyed a nice quiet day at home when Danny got back from church. Claire has been teasing us with her rolling skills for an entire month. While on her back she'd roll her bottom half completely over except she'd refuse to roll over her inside arm, but Sunday night she finally did it! Yay, Claire! Now we'll work on your drooling...After that nice surprise yesterday we didn't expect her to hit another milestone so soon but she's a busy body. I had set a mirror on the floor to let her look at herself. I got on the floor, set her down, let go and.....she didn't fall over. Not for over a minute and a half! Then we just kept sitting her up and letting her perform.

I love to hear her squeak and coo at me all day long. The other day I spoke to two different people on the phone and they both asked me if I had a bird. They had a good laugh when I told them it was Claire. Appearantly she sounds like a parakeet. As much as I want her to start talking for real and build her little vocabulary, I hear that there are things to dread with that milestone, too. Danny's brother likes to say, "The sooner they start talking, the sooner they start talking back."

She is getting so big so fast. I love it and hate it all at the same time. I never believed people when they said how fast they grow. When they're young and needy you just want them to learn to do things for themselves (so you can take a break!) but as soon as they do you feel replaced. Is there any part of parenthood that doesn't rip your heart out? Even the happy, exciting parts make me sad. One of my goals is to savor every minute with her, be they annoying, sticky, messy, smelly or poopy.

Ya Ya Roly Poly

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:01:00 +0000

I've been singing "Roly Poly" (from the movie Pillow Talk) to Claire when I'm on the floor and encouraging her to roll over. Danny thinks I made it up because my sister Kendee's last name is Rowley. I love this movie and I love this song so I thought I'd share it with ya'll so it can get stuck in your head when you sing it to your kids.

Thanks for a great Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:38:00 +0000

We had a great holiday weekend in San Angelo, Texas at Aimee & Lance's house. My parent drove out in a rented RV with Quinton, Kara & Gibson, making it the first time we've all gotten together in a long time. The RV allowed my parents to tow a long lost friend of mine: my piano! I know, I know, I'm not an accomplished pianist but I've always loved to tinker with it and my Grandma Kempton gave it to me. Yay! Thanks, Grandma! I promise I'll practice when I'm not holding Claire and when she's not napping, which leaves all of 10 minutes spread throughout my day. This could prove difficult...

We celebrated Thanksgiving in true Jones fashion: with lots of "forced family fun." In fact, that was the theme of this year's Christmas pajamas which my mom handed out early since we won't all be together for Christmas. My mom is amazing. She sewed all of the pajama pants, ironed our FFF logo on all the shirts and found pink Crocs for the girls and black Crocs for the boys in everyone's size. Claire even has a cute pair of Crocs! If only I could get her walking...

A few other early Christmas gifts included (but are not limited to): air-soft BB guns for the adults and fishing poles for the grandkids. It was an instant hit and the kids put their fishing poles to use Thursday afternoon by fishing for golfers on the golf course directly behind Aimee and Lance's house. They're goofy kids, but at least they're pretty cute ones.

Macy

Lake

Randee and Sage Fishing for Golfers

Randee modeling the girls' Christmas PJ's (the boys' were black and gray camo)

Maile and Papa

After a not so friendly match of VolleyTennis between the adults we ate a feast of feasts and the waistline of my jeans hasn't forgiven me yet. I made my cranberry pie which, surprisingly, was the first pie to disappear completely leaving me wanting another piece. I should spare myself the post-pie-eating guilt. I'll just eat a snickerdoodle with a fistful of craisins and call it even.

On Friday we had family pictures. Eight grandchildren between 8 years and 4 months old makes this an NFA: NOT FUN ACTIVITY. We didn't get a great one of everyone together, but we had some good times. Here is my cute Jones family:

Incase you missed this in the above photo, this is what Lake was doing to Macy in EVERY PICTURE. Macy is facing forward and smiling dutifully even though Lake is torturing her. I love those kids.

Claire

Even Cuter Claire

our family

We had so much to be thankful for this year and it was just another blessing to be close enough to share it with family. We still missed our friends in Illinois and hosting Thanksgiving in our home in Carbondale. Aaron & Bri and Pablo & Paula, we miss you guys!

Since you're reading this blog, odds are that you're someone we care about so... consider us thankful for you, too!

Danny Has Requested a Paternity Test

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:47:00 +0000

Claire had her 4 month check-up today (and shots, too. unfortunately). She's in the 90th percentile for height (25.5 in), weight (16 lbs) and head circumference (43 cm). Doctor Cavanaugh gave us the green light on solid foods. He recommended rice cereal with watered-down apple juice. He said the apple juice helps her body absorb the iron so we went gave it a try this evening. Here was the result:

Have you ever seen someone so excited to stop eating cereal? we gave up after 3 spoonfuls because she looked like she wanted to gag.

Now anyone who knows Danny knows that he can survive off two things from now until the end of time. The first thing is peanut butter (which Claire definitely can't have yet) and the second is cereal. Given Claire's reaction to cereal, Danny is wondering if she is, in fact, his child.

Some Unlikely Favorites

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:12:00 +0000

**This Post Is Not For Sissies**

I've been thinking about some of my favorite things about Claire and parenting in general. Like most parents, I love the smiles, giggles, and fun new tricks they learn. But that's the obvious stuff. I want to give a shout-out for some of the more unlikely or unnoticed favorite things that go on around our house.

**Danny the Daddy**
(I know this one falls in the "obvious" category, but it's still shout-out worthy). Ladies, is there anything more attractive than seeing your husband completely fall in love with your children? I love seeing how tightly Claire has wrapped herself around his finger and Danny doesn't even struggle against it. As I type I can hear him singing Weezer and Radiohead songs to get Claire to sleep. [Sigh!]

**Danny the Comedian**
Danny and I both like to think we're funny people. I don't know where it comes from, but we find ourselves to be hilarious (please, nobody rain on our parade. This is a family blog). There has always been a competitive nature between us over winning the title of "funniest." Anyway, Danny seems to have declared himself victor ever since Claire started smiling. It makes his day knowing that she smiles more for him when we're both home. Congrats, Danny. You may have won this battle, but a 4-month-old can't vote on who is the funniest. We'd lose to her toes or her stuffed giraffe.

**Danny the Sissy**
Danny cannot handle slobber or snot. It gives him the willies when a stream of fresh drool finds his flesh. He refuses to handle the nasal aspirator or "snot-sucker" as it's known around our house. I may be married to a man who resembles Clark Kent in both appearance & hidden super strength, but baby juices are his kryptonite.

**Attention-Starved Claire**
As you may have noticed from previously posted videos, Claire loves to "talk." She squeaks and screams and jabbers all day long. She has recently discovered that jabbering while I watch her is much more fun than jabbering all alone. When she starts to coo I'll smile and talk to her, but heaven-forbid I get up to do something...She yells at me to come back. Her happy squeaks turn into loud, distressed "HEY's" until I come back and watch her coo some more. I really can't fault her for this. I'm an attention-hog, too. Always have been. But isn't that why moms blog in the first place? To get attention through our children? I might as well be posting: "Hey! Hey, Guys! Post a comment to tell me how cute my baby is!" Way to go Claire. You don't have teeth and you can't quite roll over yet but you know what you want and you know how to communicate it to me.

**Mom Olympics**
Speaking of moms getting attention through their children, I recently developed a love for playing the "one-up" game with other moms. It ranges from exchanging graphic birthing stories to infant growth rates and mile markers. I know what you're thinking. You're replaying our last kid conversation and trying to figure out who "won," right? Well, don't fuss too much. I know it's important for us moms to talk about all these things. We compare birth stories to either be thankful for our own or learn how much stronger we are than we gave ourselves credit for and we compare infant growth rates and milestones to know if we're doing everything right by other people's standards. I guess what I love about it is realizing that other moms are insecure too and that they're all just as obsessed with their beautiful children as I am with mine. For the moment our identities are hidden behind our babies' and it manifests itself through conversation with other moms.

All that being said, I'd still be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it a tiny bit when Claire dwarfs other kids in weight and height. At her last appointment she was off the charts for her height. We're talking 100th percentile here, folks. So Boo-Yah!

**Stinky Toes & Neck Cheese**
I put on a sour face for Claire when I smell her toes and play the "Ooo! Stinky Feet!" game, but secretly I like the smell of her sweaty toes. So sue me.
I also like finding lint and flakes of dried milk in the rolls of her neck. I know it's gross, but it's so funny at the same time. Just the idea that her neck is so fat it can completely conceal things for days...I can't help but laugh. Hunting for Neck Cheese has become one of my favorite bath time activities.

**Double the Pleasure**
Claire is a thumb-sucker. She never took a pacifier but discovered her thumb about two months back and hasn't kicked the habit yet. I've recently had to become very vigilant while feeding her because of it. She keeps trying to work her thumb into her mouth while nursing, assuming that the Doublemint Gum philosophy applies to eating. "If milk is good, and thumb-sucking is good, then clearly I should combine the two when mom isn't paying attention." Work that angle, Claire-bear. Keep trying to maximize your happiness. Just not while eating. It makes me crazy even though I think you're a genius.

**Oopsie Poopsies**
Last one, I promise. Sometimes Claire coughs or sneezes and accidentally toots as she does. Hilarious. It startles her and I laugh which startles her more. Her Oopsie Poopsies are very entertaining.

Drumstick Sundaes

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:10:00 +0000

Claire thinks it's hilarious when I nibble on her drumsticks (aka thighs).

Wowzers

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:20:00 +0000

Could this kid be any cuter?

Done with "Done"

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:31:00 +0000

I've been sitting here stewing for a while and thinking about all the things that make me crazy. They're really just little things like dishes, laundry, vacuuming, personal hygiene, my bedroom that hasn't looked clean since we moved in, and the like. These are all everyday things that shouldn't make me want to cry when I think about them, right? Well, I've broken it down and figured out the culprit behind my madness.

It's the deceiving concept known as "done."

No wonder it makes me crazy to think about the dishes. Every time I declare them to be "done" I turn around and the sink is full again.

Every time I fold and put away 3 loads of laundry and declare it "done" Claire poops through her outfit, I find a pile of dirty clothes in the closet and Danny needs me to wash his slacks for work.

Every time the stars align long enough for me to shower, as soon as I'm "done" I get pooped on or puked on and my "clean" feeling goes out the window (there's another culprit..."clean"...).

I only have a two options here:

I can either invest in disposable dishes, disposable clothes and LOTS of deodorant and body spray

OR

I can do away with "done."

I've always been a list maker. I live for checking something off a list. Making room for more. Wiping the slate. Moving it from my mental RAM to the recycle bin.

I can't make a list for chores. How can I ever be "done" with the daily casualties of life?

I'll never be "done" with dishes until we stop eating.
I'll never be "done" with laundry until we move to a nudist colony.
I'll never be "done" showering until Danny and I lose our olfactory senses.

I can't stop making lists. I've been doing it for too long. Instead I'm going to try changing my "To Do" list into a "Work in Progress" list or an "Projects Inbetween Snuggling Claire" list.

Check marks are dead to me. And so is "done."

Thank You, Max!

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:43:00 +0000

I received a delightful package today from a friend from work back in Illinois. I was able to deliver something for him last week and, to show his appreciation, he sent me this beautiful, delicious gift:

Claire really enjoyed the balloon:

Did I deserve such a treat for such a small service? Maybe not. But who am I to snub a vase full of strawberries, grapes, chocolate-dipped orange wedges, pineapple, chocolate-dipped orange wedges, melon, and chocolate-dipped orange wedges? Did I mention the chocolate-dipped orange wedges? Thank you so much, Max! I'll run errands for you anytime.

This Little Piggy Likes to Laugh

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:29:00 +0000

Danny was sick today so we stayed home from church. It's a good thing, too. I would have shown up an hour early since I had NO IDEA about the time change. My apologies to the few people in the ward that I called way too early seeking a sub for my class. Anyway, I was playing with Claire and got her laughing so we made Dad hold the camera.

Werewolf Bar Mitzvah (spooky! scary!)

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:57:00 +0000

It was another Halloween where I let my creative side shine only to fall on blind eyes. We attended our ward Trunk-or-Treat and chili cook-off. My chili blanco arrived late and I attribute our failure to win to our tardiness. I also made some chocolate cupcakes with meringue ghosts on top but didn't get a chance to picture them since, as I mentioned before, we were running late. Claire was dazzling in her White Tiger costume and she got plenty of compliments but nobody asked what Danny and I were supposed to be.

Can you guess? Five Monopoly dollars and all the appreciation in the world to anyone who truly knows who we were!

How about now?

I was Sigfried.
Danny was Roy.
Claire was Montecore, the tiger who attacked Roy on stage.

I thought it was a cute family theme but nobody could guess what we were and Danny was a grump-a-lump about dressing up in the first place. Aren't I the meanest wife ever? he had to gel his hair, wear a shirt he already owned and don a bow-tie I made in 60 seconds flat. I kept catching him with the bow tie in his pocket while I was walking around in a man's wig. Who got the short end of the stick there?

Here's Claire and I haunting the back hatch of our car waiting for trunk-or-treaters

My sister Aimee made our Halloween treat jar. Thanks, Aim!

It was definitely a different party then last year. Our ward in Carbondale was much smaller but the parties were more fun because we knew everyone. I still had fun, even if I had to talk Danny into participating and everyone in our new ward thinks we're crazy.

If you're wondering where the title of this post came from, you need to watch 30Rock. It's a hoot. Hope ya'll had a Happy Halloween!

Happy Fall!

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:15:00 +0000

Sunny Day Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:54:00 +0000

I'm trying to figure out how to keep from double posting everything. I've been putting up pictures and videos on Facebook but for all of you who don't FB (and you know who you are) I'll see if this works. Here's a link to a little photo album of Claire. We took pictures last Saturday.

Click Here

Spooky Treats

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:00:00 +0000

I tried my hand at spooky treats today and here are the end results:

The icing was a bit of a headache. I'm used to using buttercream so the sticky runny stuff was a pain. If you want to see how I made them I posted the recipes here. They weren't my finest creations but it made me feel domestic.

In other news from today we have something for you to chew on: Claire can fit her entire fist in her mouth.

Now that's talent.

Still Got It

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:11:00 +0000

I had to write a quick post because this made my night. I ran to HEB to grab some Friday night snacks. While scoping out treats in the Ice Cream aisle I was stopped by a man who asked if he could ask me a question. At first I was offended because I figured he had mistaken me for a store employee.

While I was mentally running through my wardrobe choice and how it lead this man to think I worked at H.E.B. he surprised me by asking if I was single. When I told him I was married he said he didn't mean to bother me and that I should take it as a compliment. You'd better believe I did.

A frizzy ponytail with no make-up on a Friday night shopping for ice cream? Maybe he was desperate, but maybe I've still got it.

Blessing Day Pages

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:20:00 +0000

Blessed

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:53:00 +0000

Well, last weekend was a crazy one. It was my birthday on Friday, the 9th, we blessed Claire that Sunday, the 11th, which also happened to be my brother-in-law's birthday. It was an action packed weekend of FFF (forced family fun). Here are the last two weeks in a nutshell:

Claire and I were both spoiled rotten on Friday because both my parents and Danny's parents took us shopping. We each got a new wardrobe, a fabulous dinner and fun memories. Danny tried to be a good sport but he came down with the flu that day. (I became much more sympathetic to his symptoms after I came down with it the following Monday.) My sister Kendee joined us for dinner at Outback in San Marcos. She brought me beautiful flowers which Lake, my nephew, thought might make me "very sneezy." She also made a DELICIOUS chocolate cake which didn't last very long.

Saturday, Danny's sister Anela came. We all chilled and got the food ready for the blessing. I even stayed home and passed on a much needed pedicure just to take care of a sickly Danny and have some quiet time for the 3 of us.

Sunday was crazy. The blessing was very nice and both Danny and his mom bore very nice testimonies. It was pouring rain so we couldn't eat outside which forced us to cram EVERYONE into our tiny apartment. Kendee made another beautiful and delicious cake, this time it was German Chocolate for Lance's birthday.

Monday morning my mom came by and loaded Claire and I up to go with her to my sister's house in San Angelo. We babysat all week while Aimee and Lance were on a cruise with Kendee and Steve. I supposed I can't really claim that I helped babysit all that much since, as I mentioned before, I came down with the flu. I realized that I was just a glorified paper weight because my mom could leave me at home with napping children while she ran the older ones to school, lessons, etc. I wasn't up for much more than that.

This is Macy and Tyson, Aimee's two youngest kids.

Macy may very well be the cutest child on the planet, but she runs off of 100% attitude. Don't get me wrong, she has her angelic moments, but she loves to torment Tyson and make him scream. Her sassy deeds include, but are not limited to stealing his toys, playing "keep away" with his pacifier and dumping water on his dinner. I got to spend the most time with these two since the oldest two are in school. They're both sweet and lovable but lets just say I'm ok with one baby for now.

The final adventure of that week was when my mom took me halfway home where we met Danny. We pulled off the road about halfway between Brady and Llano and we jumped in the car with Danny. After my mom took off we realized our car wouldn't start. YIKES! Stuck in the middle of no where is bad enough without worrying about your baby, too! I found myself praying while we walked down the road and came upon some houses to ask someone to give us a jump start. We eventually found Ed, an older man who left his cold beer and Saturday afternoon football game to give us a jump. Thank you Ed! Both for helping us and for not being a crazy violent person like I imagined while I was stressed out and stranded. I'll never watch another horror film ever again, I have a vivid imagination.

And finally, Claire wanted to send a quick shout out to everyone who came for her blessing:

My mom and dad; Aimee, Lance, Sage, Randee, Macy & Tyson Skidmore; Kendee, Steve, Lake and Maile Rowley; Danny's mom and dad; and Anela. Also our local friends The Powells and the Kings.

"Thank you all for coming but...
...it's just so hard to see you go!"

Gurgle-Yelling

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:09:00 +0000

Danny and I found a common language with Claire. I call it gurgle-yelling. She's so fun and talkative these days. She sounds like an excited Chewbacca

Diaper Bag

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:19:00 +0000

So I've been searching for a new diaper bag since the adorable one I have started tearing the first week Claire was born. All the decent ones were $50 or more so I set out to make my own. Bad idea....it took way too long! Who has time to make a diaper bag with a 2-month old? It's finished, but looking back, I would have gladly paid the $50 to avoid the headache!

I used all the left over fabric to make a changing pad, diaper & wipe holder and mommy sack.

Over all, I'm satisfied with how it turned out. It's not nearly as cute as I had hoped it would be, especially with my shoddy seamstress skills. The ridiculously difficult pattern called for lots of contrasting fabrics which would have been adorable, but I'm a cheapskate so it only has one. I did add a cell phone pocket which is working pretty well. My final word of advice: BUY the diaper bag you want and make only accessories by hand if you need to express your creative side. (or use a simpler pattern and hire a babysitter!)

Makeover with Meli

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:22:00 +0000

My friend Melissa Contreras came over today and did my makeup. Holy Cow, I look like a completely different person! She changed the shape of my face and turned me from a homely housewife into a sexier version of myself. That's right, I said sexy.

Danny had better take me out on the town and show me off tonight. It's the first time I've felt cute since I was pregnant! Thanks, Meli!

Bittersweets

noreply@blogger.com (Jacquee) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:30:00 +0000

So I've decided to admit it out loud (or in print, rather): babies are difficult. I think addressing that fact will help me iron-out my emotions so they don't explode 10 years down the road sending me on a cross-country road trip to find myself and making my family think I've resented them all along.

While I was pregnant I learned a lot about Postpartum Depression and I was determined to avoid it. I don't know how exactly but I just decided I wasn't going to let it get me. So far I've done really well. Don't get me wrong, there are still days when I can't seem to locate my emotions and I feel empty. But I also have really good days when I'm productive and happy. I just can't seem to get into a rhythm that keeps me happy.

I can either be a good mom to Claire and attentive and playful with her all day, or I can be a good homemaker and keep our home in decent shape and make something edible for dinner, or I can please my creative side by trying fun new recipes and making a craft of some kind, but the different versions of myself never seem to cross paths on the same day. I want to be a good mom and have a clean house. And I want to bake bread and cookies but not ignore my daughter while dust collects on every surface of our home. I'm told it gets easier as your baby gets older but the in-between sucks.

It's no wonder PPD is such a big problem for so many women. Whether your hormones are off-balance, you're in need of sleep, or you've come to the sad realization that you just can't handle your old routine, having your life thrown off balance could kill anyone's mood.

I've been very blessed to nip my baby blues in the bud as they come but I don't see an end to them for a while. Claire makes my days complete but she also likes to poop on them, too. I mean that both literally and figuratively.

So here's to first giggles and heart-wrenching cries, the smell of clean babies and the stench of 2-day dirty dishes, mommy-time bubble baths and days without enough time to shower. And here's to therapeutic blogging. I'm not looking for anyone to tell me to "hang in there" because I am hanging in there. I'm just keeping it real in the meantime.