Who doesn't love a good bath? -- Photo Blog

Who doesn't love a good bath?





Monster lookin' like his daddy!





Blargggg!!





"Awww!! Mommm!"

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Rad Baby Shoes!

I'm not huge on baby shoes. They are usually ridiculously hard to get on, and even then they don't stay on for long.

Whenever I complain about baby shoes to other moms they something like "Oh, I just put them on to keep his/her socks on", well... I've never had an issue with socks. I've only purchased Monster one pair of shoes, all his other pairs are hand me downs or gifts. However, when we were in Spencer's I could NOT pass up these adorable infant shoes!















I originally bought them as a Christmas gift but of course, Monster was about to grow out of them a month before he was even supposed to have them. Even though they are clearly the coolest infant shoes ever, I've still only made an effort to put them on him twice.

Shoes are obviously not this mommies main concern.


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Working? Student? Mom?

Not only have I returned to work to become a working mother, but I've also become a working, student mother.

What possessed me to take on so much? My desire to change professions. I was just hired at a local insurance agency and in order to sell insurance you must be licensed. I am definitely not complaining, the fact that the company was willing to hire me in an entry level, pay for my education, pay me to obtain my license and pay for my licensing, of course I'm going to work my butt off!

As a new mom, just returning to work it feels like a lot. Not only am I now away from my baby 5 out of 7 days a week for the majority of the day, but I'm studying after Monster is a sleep in order to obtain my license.

Just when I thought my life would settle down and be quiet until after Christmas, I am handed an opportunity I just could not pass up. How have you dealt with returning to work with a baby at home, and when did you find time for your husband?!

"Ya give me fev-ah"

Baby fever. It's an absolutely serious condition that strikes mostly women.

Although it is more common once you reach your 30's it can be just has serious in the younger age groups. It's almost as if now that I've been pregnant and had my baby I have a mommy radar. No question about it, I will notice a cute baby or baby bump over a hot guy any day.

The condition is heightened if the women in question is around or holding an infant. Its almost like her uterus starts magnetically screaming "Get in HERE!". Does this condition ever fade or go away completely? I can not be sure.

All I know is that I will continue to push down my yearning for another life growing within in me and dutifully take my birth control until the fever has me so close to death I have no other choice but to listen to my body... And become a mother once more.

My heart hurts waiting for that day when I know it's time.

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Thank you John Tesh!

Just a couple of days ago I blogged about my mommy guilt and returning to work. Luckily I've just had a (very minimal) bit of relief given to me by a faceless man.

Thank you, John Tesh. For those of you who have no idea who I'm talking about, John Tesh is a radio show host. His show airs nightly over our local station and is pretty interesting. He offers  us facts to live by in the way of : "Intelligence for Life", about almost anything.

A couple days ago when I was putting Monster to bed I was listening to a couple minutes of his show (Monster has a radio quietly going in his room 24/7). John Tesh was talking about Mommy Guilt! Ahh! You think I'm kidding right? Nope!

He provided statistics from studies (he usually states where and when the studies were done too) about children who have stay at home moms, and children who have working parents. Between the ages of 1 and 2, babies with working parents actually had a higher IQ. Not to worry stay at home moms, the study also showed that the babies all "leveled out" by the age of 3.

Another study he talked about followed 100(?) children from 8 months to 18 years that found it didn't matter if they had a stay at home mom or a working mom the children with more affectionate parents faired better in life. Children that experienced more affection from their parents handled stressful situations better, and were least likely to become depressed among a list of other things.

Of course I'm not going to base my whole views and opinions on one study, I would love to be a stay at home mom! But it definitely helps relieve a tiny bit of the guilt knowing those tid bits of information.


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More B. Toys for Christmas!

B Toys are toys that frequent my blog because of my sheer adoration for them. I first came across the Time Square toy in Costco this summer and have not looked back since! I love absolutely everything about them; the way they incorporate learning, fun, music, animals, alphabet, etc.

So far Monster has the Times Square toy, and the Parum Pum Pum Drum toy. For Christmas, I've added to his B. Toys collection and may add more still. Every time I'm in the learning toy section at our local big box store I stop and oogle at the toys that are just out of Monster's age range a little too far for me to justify buying more for Christmas.

Anyways, I can't review them because, well I haven't opened them or had Monster play with them yet. I'm tempted, but they are Christmas gifts! The first one I purchased was one I've been looking at since I found B. Toys. It's the H2-Whoa! Toy. Essentially it's a "draw with water" toy! The board comes with four "pens" that you fill with water, and then draw on the board with. As the water dries the picture disappears (so if you want to keep your child's art work I suggest having a camera around when the toy is out).

Main attraction to this particular toy? I want to provide Monster with the opportunities to develop a love for many different medias including art like drawing/coloring/painting. However, most things aren't eatable and unfortunately Monster is still putting absolutely everything in his mouth. Also, pens and paints are messy on your walls, floors, fabrics and everything besides paper that babies/toddlers might decide to draw on. This toys only ingredient is WATER.

The second B.Toy we purchased for Christmas was the Holiday Wheeee-ls! The picture shows it as two separate packages with two cars each, but ours came with all four cars. The cars are a semi-soft plastic (perfect for teething babies) and they are the kind that when you drag backwards and let go, zoom off on their own ("pull-back-and-release")! Plus each car makes a different noise (ring, chime, rattle or squeak).

Stay tuned after Christmas for a Mommy Toy Review!
My Mommy Review of : Parum Pum Pum Drum

It'll be a Toy (Story) Filled Christmas!

One evening a few weeks ago our dear friends Mr.&Mrs. LAM invited us over for dinner. It was a fanatic time, full of hamburgers, hockey and laughs!

They (at the time) had two little boys (if you fast forward to now, they have three!) so of course it wasn't one of those situations where you feel uncomfortable bringing your baby over. The whole family welcomed Monster with open arms, of course that was because he wasn't crawling and getting into absolutely everything like he is now. Haha. ;)

Their boys are throughly obsessed with the Toy Story movies and toys. They had a Buzz Lightyear doll and right away Monster was drawn to it! He is a huge hard plastic doll, so he's not easy to break, plus he has cool buttons that make him talk when you press them. This year for Christmas we've already purchased Monster the Woody doll, and one of his grandma's are planning on getting him the Buzz doll he liked so much.

We've also purchased the toy chest set of 3 blu-ray versions of the movies. Of course, it's not really something Monster should be watching right now, but we have an extensive movie collection and had planned on adding them to our Classic Disney section anyways. I'm probably more excited about Monster unwrapping that gift Christmas morning then he will be, because I want to watch them noooowwww!!

Mommy Guilt and Returning to Work

I've known for a long time that I didn't want to return to my Care Aid job after my maternity leave. I think I made that decision before I even took my maternity leave. That's a whole different blog.

I know just how crappy this economy is for finding work, so I knew that if I didn't want to go back to my old job I'd have to start looking well in advance. I've been applying at different places that sound good since August. Long story short, I just got hired on with an insurance company on Monday. The whole process was very short. I dropped my resume off  Monday (the 8th), had two interviews by Tuesday and was hired the following Monday.

Ideally I'd never have to return to work, and could just sit at home with my baby all day. Unfortunately it's not financially possible for us, our lifestyle and this day in age. I've been trying to wrap my head around going back to work and what it will mean for my baby and I. I've cried every single day this week. Thankfully I've been far too busy at work to think about missing Monster, it's when I get home and see his adorable face that I just want to sit on the floor, holding him, crying. I don't. Ok, I did once. The other time I held it in until I was giving him his good night hugs before bed.

It's not like it's someone else, some stranger raising my baby. Hubbs works graveyard so that he can be home during the day with Monster, which is really the only way I could come to terms with returning to work anyways. What makes it worse though, is that this last week Monster has hit new infant milestones, and I haven't been the first one to see any of them first. It's an adjustment period for everyone involved, but so far Monster seems to be handling it the best out of us all.

Christmas Traditions

I have decided to start calling myself a 'Christmas Enthusiast'... I'm pretty enthusiastic about a lot of things, but this year I am over-the-moon for Christmas! How could I not be? I have a son to share it with!

I've been thinking about different Christmas traditions I had growing up, Hubbs had growing up and the ones we've made typical since becoming a couple. I'd like to have a few new develop this year in our little 3 person family because of our new addition. When I was little I remember always asking to open "..just ONE present?" on Christmas Eve, and always being denied. I get it. Christmas is on Christmas... But I'd like to start a tradition with my little family that we all get to open one gift on Christmas Eve. And it will always be Pajamas. I'm sure that a lot of families do this so it's not really a new idea, but it's new and exciting to me!

I was also reading a blog (I think?) recently that described the families stocking tradition. I've always had stockings, and they've always been filled with little treats and small things like lip gloss, or batteries (if I got a toy that year that required them) and that was great! I love when Santa brings me a stocking even now! This blogger's tradition however was slightly different. She filled her stockings with small treat-like things that the kids could eat for breakfast. In my mind I'm picturing individually wrapped muffins or cinnamon buns with fruit, nuts, a juice to drink and maybe a small chocolate treat.

I think that idea is just FANTASTIC! A breakfast stocking! It would be such a challenge to come up with new things every year... Obviously this year it would be the most realistic. Anything "treat" like, I wouldn't let Monster eat at this age, and any toys that are small enough to fit in the stocking probably aren't age appropriate.

Stay tuned for Christmas Traditions - Part Two