Crappy First Time Mama

For those of you who don't know what's going on, here is the link to the blog where this whole thing started. There has been a crazy all out mommy-war going on ever since this blogger posted this picture of 4 different moms which was supposed to celebrate our different parenting styles. She had a lot of nasty things written on hers with a lot of moms calling each other some pretty mean things. I have only read her blog a few times but she sounds like a very fun person!

Even though I am not a very good blogger, I am going to jump on the band wagon and give my reasons why I am a crappy mom to my (almost) 11 month old baby boy. (Seriously, where has the time gone, he is almost a year old!)

I only nursed/pumped for about 8 weeks and then switched to formula.

We co-sleep sometimes plus his crib is still in our room.

I held/hold him a lot, maybe "too much", but I honestly don't think that is possible.

He often takes naps in his swing or has to be held to fall asleep.

He uses a pacifier still for naps and bedtime. He won't still have it by his 2nd birthday.

Sometimes I let him hold his own bottle to feed himself so I can get something done.

I sometimes get on the computer while he is awake and playing. (I have gotten away from that mostly so I can enjoy him while he is still a baby...seriously, they grow up too fast.)

I try to use natural and organic products around the house.

I mostly make his food or he eats what we eat. (Mostly organic, but sometimes not.)

Sometimes he eats pre-packaged baby food. (Only organic brands)

I am very cautious about him trying new foods, probably more than I need to be.

I let him drink juice.

Sometimes I let him have some whipped cream off my coffee drink.

We vaccinate on the doctor's schedule.

We use over the counter baby meds sometimes for fever, etc.

I use natural and organic baby body items for him.

I cloth diaper and mostly use cloth wipes.

He is not circumcised.

He will remain rear facing after 2 years if his height and weight allow.

I hug and kiss him constantly because I can't get enough of him.

I mostly stay at home with him and when I do work I miss him like crazy. (I have more separation anxiety than he does.)

I let him watch TV sometimes.

I used a wrap when he was younger now we mostly use a stroller.

I don't like to buy a lot of the mainstream clothes that make him look like an 8 year old. I want to dress him like a baby while he still is one.

I tell him "no" and plan on spanking his bottom if necessary for discipline but plan on using positive parent techniques too.

I take him to church some Sundays and read him books about God and the Bible.

I know there are many more things that some people would think make me a bad mama but I can't think of anymore right now. All I can think of is how much I love my little man and would do anything for him to keep him safe and healthy. If you think some of these things make me (and my husband, since these are mostly joint decisions) a bad parent then you can go ahead and think that. When I come home from work and he comes crawling to me when he hears my voice or his face lights up when he sees me, I know I am not a bad mommy in his eyes. He loves me and that is what matters to me!

~Little T's Mommy~

Rachel 

(Oh yeah, we don't put his name on the internet for his safety.)

I know, I've totally screwed him up already, which is why he thinks his booger sucker is a toy.

Growing...

Yes, I know. I am terrible at updating, but I have had so much going on and I am trying not to be on the computer when little man is awake. I just don't want to miss things since he is growing sooooo fast! Seriously so much has happened with him since my last post. Let's see if I can think of everything...

He has tried more foods; apples, carrots, zucchini (which he liked, much to the dismay of his dad), green beans and peaches. Up next: butternut squash...yum!

He could sit up on his own, but not get out of sitting up (unless he tipped over) or into sitting. Then in the past week and a half he all of a sudden can sit up on his own, get to his tummy/crawling position from sitting. Then he can scoot but not quite crawl like a mad man! We had to put up his play yard because he was getting to everything he wasn't supposed to get to, like the cords from the Wii.

He tried the little puffs a few days ago. At first he wasn't sure what to do when you put it is his mouth, but now he chews on them. He tries picking them up and is successful sometimes. He got one in his mouth for the first time today!

He has his first tooth coming in. You can feel the very top of it coming through his gums. We have had some crankiness, low fevers and waking a lot for the past few weeks. It will be nice when this tooth finally comes in!

He has also started to pull himself up to things. He has been pretty successful a couple of times and has gotten to standing. Crazy!

I think those are the big milestones he has reached so far, but as I said they are happening so fast! It seems like one day he can't do something and then the next day he can.

We also celebrated my husband's first Father's day this month! We got up early and made him breakfast, waffles and bacon. I made him some delicious chocolate cupcakes with homemade pb cups inside with chocolate frosting. They were delish!! I took pictures and will be doing a tutorial on them for my next post so keep a lookout for that one!

Until then, happy creating! 

~Rachel, Little T's Mommy~

First Mother's Day

I can't wait to spend my very first mother's day with my sweet baby boy! It would be better if Joe could spend the day with us but he has to go make the money. Plus we get  bunch of days together next week/weekend, so I can't complain too much.

T had another visit with his neurologist last week and we discussed the results of his MRI he had in March. His doctor is a bit concerned because there were still some areas of concern within his brain and there had been some shrinkage of the brain. Overall he is doing well and meeting most of his milestones. The doctor is thinking he may prove them wrong by doing much better than they originally thought. He are proud of him and his accomplishments whether he ends up being behind or not.

I'm not much in a typing mood. Kind of sad especially since I haven't posted much at all lately, but I am just tired so I am going to post some new pics of some of what has been going on with my little guy and a link to my Etsy shop that I finally got up and going! Go check it out!

Our little family on Easter morning. I made T's cute little shortalls.

Little Man loves to stand! He is getting so big!

Holding his bottle now. He does such good job!

Enjoying some delicious peas! We have now tried oatmeal, rice, bananas, peas, avocados and pears. He only disliked the avocados. 

 Love my pea covered munchkin!

And a link to my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/MidCenturyMamaK

Please visit and shop around!! 

Have a Happy Mother's Day to all the mama's out there!

~Baby T's Mama~

First Friday Fun

Last night we went to the First Friday event our downtown has every 1st Friday of the month. Being so close to Easter is was an Easter theme. A bunch of the businesses had specials or little giveaways going on. One place even had the Easter bunny so T got to sit with her (the bunny was pink so I'm going with "her".) and get his picture taken. We got one copy of the photo and it was free! Can't beat that price! Then my sweet husband did an obstacle course, egg on a spoon around some cones, and got me a $20 voucher to the salon where I got my hair done for our wedding. Much needed haircut here I come! Our friend Jen also did the course and got herself one too.

My darling husband earning the voucher for me!

 Miss Jen tackling the course with the very raw egg! 

Then we just walked around and checked out the other businesses. I am so glad they are getting more small businesses in our downtown. I would much rather go to downtown and support some local businesses than go to the giant chain store. Prices are not always that much more and you are supporting local people and their families instead of the CEO's of those giant companies.

Also, I got my two tester bibs made and sent out the other day. They should get them soon and hopefully they enjoy them as much as I do! Thank you again ladies!

Now I am off to make some shoes for my little guy for Easter since it is supposed to be chilly!

~Rachel~

Little T's Mommy

Tummy sleeper...

Two nights in a row Little T has decided to sleep on his tummy. As I mentioned in my previous post he was getting almost all the way from his back to his tummy. Three nights ago he figured it out completely. Joe woke me up about 1 a.m. saying "He is sleeping on his stomach." Of course being half asleep I freaked out. "Is he breathing!?" He was of course. Silly boy. 

Joe tried turning him over the first night which ended with him waking up thinking it was time to be awake and eat. Since I wasn't the one who woke the baby, I got to keep sleeping. Ha!

Thank you to the two lovely ladies who commented on my bib testers post. They will each be receiving a bib in the mail to test out soon! I'm excited because I get to make girly bibs! :-) After that I will be making more to get some in my shop soon. *fingers crossed* I really want to be a WAHM because I hate leaving my little guy even for a few hours. I am officially smitten with him!

No pictures today, but hopefully I will get some more projects done and maybe a tutorial some day soon...


*Update*
Sandy a la Mode is doing an amazing giveaway over at her blog! She is giving away a pair of Seychelles shoes. Amazing! If you have never heard of them, you need to check them out. They are one of my favorite brands. Sadly I have never owned a pair as they are on the pricey side, but they are completely my style. Their shoes have that vintage look and feel that I love! 

~Rachel~

Little T's Mommy

Sickness and Road Trip

My little guy is 5 months old today! Yikes, I can't believe it! He is getting so big!

T has now been fighting a cold and allergies for 2 weeks now. We went to the doctor last week and he said it was probably just a cold but allergies are possible even though they say they "can't have allergies this young." He has had a terribly runny nose and a bit of a cough. He only had a low fever one day and hasn't again since. Some days his nose will be less runny so I think we are at the end and then he wakes up with a worse sounding cough like today. He absolutely despises the bulb sucker by now and I don't blame him. I will be calling the dr. again this week if it continues. I just feel bad for the poor little guy.

On a happier note, we had our first road trip/weekend trip this last weekend. We went up to the suburbs to visit our friends and also use our Trader Joes gift card from my wonderful sister! T was such a good little traveler and so patient with all the shopping we did. We have such a good little baby boy! It was so great to see our wonderful friends whom we don't see very much. They are getting married in May and I cannot be more happy for them! I can't wait, it's going to be such a fun and crafty wedding! :-) T was so smiley all weekend, probably because he got a lot of new stuff. Amy took us to a couple Goodwills and a Savers (a very large thrift store.) We even found a few Janie and Jack pieces of clothing for him at a great price! He also practiced rolling over from his back while we were there. He can get himself almost all the way over, his arm is just keeping him from getting all the way to his tummy. He is getting so close!

Such a cool little traveler!

It was a fun weekend and now as we get back to our regular activities I hope my little guy feels better soon! I hope you are all staying healthy and enjoying this nice weather!

Rachel

~Little T's mommy~

Bib Testers

In an attempt to get more followers and to help my get my crafty store up and going I am going to do a small giveaway. I have some bibs that I designed and would like a couple people to test them out and give me feedback on how to improve upon them. The first 3 people with kiddos needing a 0-6, 6-12 and 18-24 size to comment I will send a bib for you to test out and keep of course! I need 1 person per size, if that makes sense, so I can test out each size pattern. Just leave a comment with your child's age/size and color (boy, girl or neutral). The bibs you will receive will be made just for you. The bibs I made pictured below are size 0-6 months and made for my little man.

They stretch to fit over his head like a T-shirt. The front fabric is knit and the back is fleece to act as a water resistant layer which work well. My guy is a constant drool-er and they work pretty well, but I feel they could be improved before I start to sell them. 

My little guy wearing his sunshine bib! He looks thrilled, doesn't he?

Please if you follow my blog but don't have kiddos share this post with your friends that do! I promise to have giveaways in the future for those of you without kids. Thank you!!

Rachel

~Little T's Mommy~

Okay, the truth is out. I am terrible at being a blogger. I really want to do it, along with the million other things I want to do, but I seem to forgot or not find time. I really wish I was better at it and I really will try to be, but I'm sure my next post won't be for about another month. :-p

Since my last post was so long ago I don't even know what I wrote about so I am starting fresh tonight. I will give you some back story of becoming a mommy. This post may be long so bear with me. First off, I call him T on here and on my social networking sites. We decided not to share his name publicly on the Internet since we post pictures of him. Our friends and family know his name and anyone doesn't know his personally will know him as T. (or baby T or Mr. T....yeah, I know.)

My little guy is 4 1/2 months old. That is crazy to me. Where has the time gone? How did he get so big? You are probably wondering what I am talking about since you have not even seen any pictures yet. So here are a couple for comparison.

Here I am holding T in the NICU 5 days old.

Here he is at 4 months, sitting so big, on the couch all by himself!

He is my sweet little guy! If you know me, you are laughing as my husband still does when I say things like "I love my baby boy soooo much!" "Mommy's little man!" etc. Because I used to swear up and down that I was never, ever, EVER going to have boys because they are stinky and bratty and awful. I want girls because I can dress them all cute and fun with frills and bows and ruffles, etc. I even used to say I would trade my boy in for a girl. I was that determined I did not want a boy. That all changed the day he was born,  and now I can't even imagine having girls. I love having a boy, seriously, I love it! Mainly because I love him more than I can ever explain, but also they are fun. As you can see in the second picture I can still accessorize, and I do, with socks and hats, sometimes even bibs. 

I am not great at story telling, I often get off track and tell things out of order, like I already have. Anyways, during my pregnancy I had grown to accept of the idea of having a boy and I even would refer to him as a "him" more than a "her". (Oh yeah, we did not find out the sex until he was born...see I told you I was bad at this.) The day he was born is pretty much a blur, I was 36 weeks and had developed sever preclampsia so after a day of bed rest I got a call telling us to get to the hospital to be induced. We had about 2 hours to pack and get everything ready, we got to the hospital and they got us all situated, induced me and then we waited and waited. Finally after 24 hours of labor, 8:47 on Oct. 27th I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy. Then everything was a blur, we saw him and held him, Joe took a picture to text close friends and family, our parents came in to meet him, I finally got to eat dinner, I nursed him and gave him to the nurse to take him to the nursery to finish all the things they need to do there. Then we waited and waited for them to bring him back. I kept asking about him and the nurse would say she was going to find out what was going on, but would never get back to us. 

Finally about 6 hours after they had taken him the nurse actually came back with the news that he was having apnea episodes so they needed to keep him in the nursery. I was on bed rest and could not go down there. I made Joe go take pictures of him so I could see him again. Over the night they had decided they could wheel me down there on a bed so I could nurse him. They would wake me up every 3 hours and take me down there. During the  next day we did the same thing after I was no longer on bed rest because he was still having the episodes so he still had to stay. That evening they took us to the nursery for me to nurse again and they had decided to transfer him to the NICU 45 minutes away because his episodes had gotten worse. I fought back tears, so did Joe. We didn't lose it until someone mentioned how well we were holding up. Joe called our families to let them know, I was able to be discharged (thank goodness!) and we headed home after he was packed up in the ambulance headed to the NICU. We frantically packed everything we needed for a couple nights and headed there also. 

Luckily the NICU is brand new, only about a year old, and also happens to be the one my sister works at as a nurse. T got his very own room which also had a little area with a couch and closet. The couch doubled as a bed where one parent could stay. In another part of the NICU they have 6 hotel-like rooms with a twin bed, a nightstand, a TV and a chair, that are available on a first-come first-serve basis and by emergency. We were lucky enough to get one the first night, so I slept in there since I had gotten very little sleep in the hospital. Joe stayed in T's room. 

Now for the quick summary of his NICU stay, which was 16 very long, tiring days. Over his time there they gave him caffeine for the apnea then ran tests to rule out such things as seizures. He had an MRI, an EEG, a feeding tube a couple of times, come tests to make sure his bowels were okay, an ultrasound. He grew out of the apnea sometime while we were there the MRI showed some areas of concern in his brain and they discovered he has Renal Reflux. They ruled out seizures and he didn't have to have surgery for his bowels. He just met a lot of doctors, had a lot of tests and the last week he was there was just trying to get the little guy to eat! The two weeks went by in a strangely slow but fast sort of way. I stayed there most nights, I think I came home about 3 or so. Joe had to start work a week after he was born so he was home much more than I was. It was a tough time, something I never imagined we would go through. I prayed a lot and was so thankful for Joe, my sister (she would come visit him on the nights she worked), my parents and his parents, our pastor and our friends. He had a lot of people praying for him and he pulled through. He is doing great now and I am loving being his mommy! 

We still get to go back to the hospital for follow-ups with his doctors there. We now know that 45 minute drive better than we ever imagined we would and will for a little while longer. 

~Little T's Mommy~

Rachel

Welcome back to my blog. As you can see, it had a little makeover, just as my life did since the last time I posted. I got married, we have moved many times and we added a new member to our little family. We welcomed our sweet baby boy T to our lives October 27, 2011. It was the best day of my life and since then I have become a full time (almost) stay at home wife and mommy. I say almost because I still work at my retail job 1-2 days a week, but hopefully I will be able to quit there soon once I get going on my own Etsy shop to provide some income while working from home.

Follow along with me as I post about my adventures as a wife and mother. I love to sew, scrapbook, bake and decorate cakes and I'm inspired by vintage and antiques so watch for tutorials, recipes and anything else fun I come up with to do. So far I love being a mommy and cannot wait to share more about that with you.

Have a creative day!

More wedding

So again I have been failing to post, I don't have much of an excuse because it really doesn't take up much time I just forget or I don't feel like writing. *sigh* Horrible reasons, I know.

I think I will continue to blog about the wedding progress and planning since I think it will help me clear my head and organize ideas and what not. I probably will post a bit about my crafting and baking, but it it will mostly be wedding. Ooh fun! :-)

As of right now I am trying to get my save the dates done so they can go out in the mail tomorrow. I am cutting it a bit close with those since it is now past our 6 month date, but I just wanted to do them! In a way, at least to me and in my mind, they are setting the tone and theme of our wedding and now that I have them almost done I am really excited about them. They aren't as eco-friendly as a wanted, but they are completely handmade and they should still be recycle-able. I wanted to put bookmarks in them using the stamp I made that has our names and date, but they just won't happen. Maybe I'll save those for the wedding or even the invitations. We will see, so many decisions!

OH and I found my hat/veil! Yay! I found it at an antique mall, it wasn't too expensive and it is darling! It matches my shoes pretty well and will go great with my dress. Of course the best thing is that it is vintage (eco-friendly) and 50's style. :-) Love it! In fact....I'll post a picture of it. Joe has seen it already anyway. I can't keep things from him! Ha ha!




My fabulous shoes! :-)

Happy Easter

Title says it all. Happy (late) Easter! I hope you all enjoyed your day, family and some ham!

God Bless!

Wordless Wednesday

To do List

I have been making a To Do list for each month until the wedding. This month I had on there to call the caterer, done; check out organic flower options, doing that right now; make and decorate a mock/practice cake, not done; start making music list, not started. Now I also added onto that a project not related to the wedding. I am now making two Easter dresses for my friends' daughters. We picked up all the fabric the other day and I have started cutting out the pattern pieces. They shouldn't be too hard so we will see how they turn out! I'm sure they will be cute and if they aren't too frustrating, then I feel I should be able to make the flower girl dresses for my nieces for the wedding. I just can't seem to find what I want, so making them may be the only option. Hey, when I say I am having a handmade wedding, I really mean it! Ha! We will see if I have any hair left by the wedding. I may have to get a wig made for me...I wonder if anyone on Etsy makes them...

That is all for my post today. I've got a lot to do and those dresses are at the top of my list right now. Less than 2 weeks until Easter now! I can do it!

Happy Creating! :-)

Wedding Planning Inspiration

Since this is the year of the big day, MY big day to more specific, there is a lot of wedding planning to be done. I am also planning a DIY wedding to save money and it is much more fun! I am going to start posting my pictures and ideas on here so I can keep track of what is going through my head. I seriously have hundreds of ideas swimming around in my head and everyday I get more and more ideas. It is a bit overwhelming. So for the next 7 months you will get to follow along with my wedding planning for my vintage, handmade eco-chic wedding! Yay! Fun for you! I will still post about my other crafting and baking, but be prepared for some wedding crafting craziness!

How's this for inspiration?



This is mostly my color and "theme" inspiration. I love the 50's, so you could say we are going to have a 50's theme, even though we aren't going to go all out on that. Since I want to be eco-friendly, buying vintage is a good way to be green and it will also tie in with the 50's theme or feel of the wedding. We are going to use Chrysanthemums as our flowers since they are autumn flowers and grow in autumn colors. The color theme is going to be autumn colors with dark teal (or peacock teal/blue) as a contrast color because I am in love with that color!

More autumn color inspiration:

Best Deal Ever

One of the items from last weekend I am soooo glad I bought because it turned out to be one of the best deals ever (so far.)

Remember this picture?


Well, they are these amazing little floating disks that you stick a wick in. Then you pick any glass container, usually some sort of wine glass or goblet. Pour mostly water in the glass, then a nice layer of cooking oil (veg., olive, sunflower, etc.) and float the disk on top, light it and you have a nice oil candle. Amazing! I found some of a these over a year ago at a Christmas craft bazaar, but they are a new company. The Flam-Buoyants company sadly does not exist anymore, yes, I searched for it online. However during my searches I found some on Amazon.

Their price on Amazon: $41.85
What I paid at garage sale: $0.10
Savings: $41.75

Best deal ever! I am so exited! I haven't tested them yet, but they should work. This is exactly why you should go to garage sales, you never know what you might find and what amazing deal you may get. :-)

Happy thrifting! (and creating)

Thrifting Pictures

I said I would post some pictures of what I bought this last weekend, so here they are. :-)

Thrifty Weekend

This last weekend I did a little bit of thrifting and oh how I missed it so! The weather was beautiful so Friday I decided to see if anyone was having garage sales. There were a few around town but I found a church one which was indoors, I know defeating the purpose of enjoying the sun, but oh well. They had a lot of stuff (some of the marked stuff, especially the glasswares, were a bit overpriced for a garage sale.) After finding some sets of cloth napkins in the kitchen room for $.25 a set, I ventured into the other rooms. I found some fabric (2 yards, plus a remnant of another print) for $.50 and an old plastic thread case for $.50! I have been needing a thread case for all my spools of thread. Then I found the Christmas room, unfortunately did not find much, just a couple little things and the book room, where I found my best treasures! I found a really old baking book from the 1920's! It is a little bit musty, but otherwise in great condition! I also found a couple other cookbooks from the 50's/60's and a poetry book from the 60's. I paid $2 for all four. :-)

Then on Sunday, Joe's mom and I went to an antique show in Portland. It was huge and we didn't even get halfway through. I had a small list of what I was looking for and of course didn't find any of it. Isn't that how it always goes? I did find a GREAT book illustrated by Eric Carle from the 60's and in amazing condition. It is like new! I also got a pattern and a cute little German clock. We are pretty sure the clock doesn't work but I think it is a cute little decorative item. I was pleased with my purchases and of course had fun antiqueing with my soon-to-be mother in-law.

Over all it was a fun weekend and I will post pictures of my finds later!

Happy creating! :-)

Free Time

I haven't been posting again, sorry about that. Last week was eventful to say the least. After we got back from Wisconsin I had a couple days off, then Wednesday when I went to work at the kitchen shop I found out that it was closing. I'm not normally one to point fingers, but the mall just wouldn't work out a deal on the rent so the store had to close. Very sad, because I love the great kitchen stuff we sell and the amazing people I work with. Thank goodness for Facebook so I can stay in touch with the friends I made there. So last week I work about every day and Sunday was our last day. Yesterday we went in and packed up the store and now no more kitchen shop. :-(

During all that I was trying to decorate cookies, count my calories and offered to babysit my friend's kids so they could have a date night. Sadly I did not get any exercise in that mix. Hopefully I still have some loss this week. I did finally get the cookies decorated however and they turned out pretty cute, even if the cookie recipe was not my friend.







On another note, last month I had finally ordered some Lunapads and have gotten to use them once already. Actually when I got them in the mail I was so excited I even said I couldn't wait for my period to start so I could use them! Ha ha....there is a first time for everything I guess! So for any of you ladies out there interested in an eco-friendly option for pads and other period supplies, check them out! They may seem a little spendy, but in the long run you will end up saving money and you won't be filling up the landfills with pads that won't biodegrade for hundreds of years. There are tons of options for cloth pads, start looking online and you may be surprised at how fun it is! You can also find patterns and how-to's to make your own. I am already planning on ordering more and making some of my own and I hope you will too!

Happy crafting!

Gum Paste Flowers

I know it has been awhile, again, and my last post was pretty brief. As you know, my grandma passed away, so we were in Wisconsin for the weekend. It was a sad and not so fun trip, but I got to see my family again, even if it was under those circumstances. Joe went with me for support because he is an amazing fiance and I love him more because of that. Now we are home, missing Grandma, but happy I went to say goodbye.

On a brighter note, I finally got to try out my Wilton gum paste flower kit I bought with a Christmas gift card. Yay! I have been wanting to try it, but the events I did not get to last week. SO that is what I did today and it was pretty fun and not very hard at all. Of course, I just did the easy flowers, the apple blossom and the daisies. I tried to do the wild rose, but it would not cooperate so I gave up on that one for now. Making flowers takes patience and can be messy, but really is not that hard. And they look pretty in the end. Since in nature no two flowers grow to be exactly alike, you don't have to be perfect and try to make all flowers look identical. Here are some pictures of my finished flowers.

In Honor and Memory of Her

My grandmother passed away today. She left to be with my Grandpa. I know she has been wanting to be with him since he passed, but she knew we needed her here too, so she stayed with us until today. She is no longer in pain and now they can be together again.

Some people say knowing it was coming makes it easier, but it really doesn't because it is still extremely hard. She was my last living grandparent and I was blessed to have her here for 24 years of my life. Even when we had our differences, she always was a wonderful Grandma and we always knew she loved us. I will cherish all of our memories from throughout the years.



I love you Grandma! I miss you already.