Friday Faves: Hair, TV, and For Dad

I've got a few faves this week, so I'll try to keep it short and sweet.

Once upon a time, I got my hair done every 8-10 weeks. Cut, color, style. It was over $100 easy per visit. Then I knocked up and even though dying my hair would be "Ok", I just didn't really see the point in risking it, plus, with all the hormones and vitamins, my hair was shiny and pretty naturally. So I opted for just a cut and style, but was still getting my hair done every 10 weeks or so because it was growing so fast. Now I'm lucky if I get it cut every 6 months... So to rescue the ends from splitting and getting dry and nasty, I have been using these two lovely things at least once a week. It's fast, easy, and helps keep my hair decent in between cuts. I've had the Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask for a while and I just use a little bit on the ends of my hair while I shave my legs. By the time I'm done shaving, it's time to rinse and my hair feels so much better. Same goes for the Soap & Glory Hair Supply. Both of them smell so good, too! It's a great way to stretch the time between hair appointments that much longer. At $10 or less for these things that will last for a while, your hair will thank you.

One of my new favorite shows is The Marriage Ref. Even after watching the 30 minute premiere episode/teaser that aired after the closing ceremony of the Olympics was hilarious. I'm SO glad it's an hour long now. Hubby & I can't wait to watch it every week. It makes light of some of the totally ridiculous things that we fight about sometimes...

And finally, for the new Dad in your life... Hanes Perfect T's. I stocked Hubby up on a few of these before and right after Will was born. These were great to wear when Will was itty bitty and spitting up frequently because it wasn't staining Hubby's regular t-shirts. Now, Hubby wears these all the time, and sometimes I wear one to bed. They're soft, comfy, and CHEAP (at $8 or less if you use a coupon that Target sends out once in a while - check out current Target coupons online here!). I stuck to the basics of black & navy for Hubby so stains wouldn't be quite so obvious, but they have a ton of colors.

Food wars: Episode 7 The Mom-pire strikes back

A long time ago...in a high chair not so very far away....there was a brave Baby knight who was enticed by the dark side once again. It had been many months since he had fought with food...but it had soon got the best of him. The anger deep within rose up, and he started, once again, to use his Baby mind tricks against his sweet and loving mother to get the sweet foods he so craved. Peas flew, tears flowed, the screams were piercing....yet....the Mom-pire pushed through....her rebel forces refusing to give up....and today saw a little success for her efforts.

Nobody correct my Star Wars factoids or lack there of.

But that's right peeps, the food wars have begun again. Last time it was around Christmas...and for the past 2 months it has been nothing but dinner bliss. Breakfast is always wonderful...lunch is usually ok....and dinner is really the only problem. But the past week....he's pretty much been eating his breakfast and crying and cranky at every other meal...including snacks. UGH...I hate it! I feel like such the inadequate parent when he goes to bed hungry. Cuz I KNOW he's hungry...because when he's crying he's pointing to the Cheerios or the Graham cracker box.....and I'm sorry if I don't feel like those thing nutritionally replace my wonderful chicken or homemade mac and cheese.

ANYWAY....lunchtime today was yet another wah wah wah fest. I made him a FABULOUS ham and cheese sandwich and he erupted into tears. Even when I put the grapes on his plate he pushed them away. It's hard...but I ignored it. I spent all last night researching how to get the children to eat....and many of them say to not make a big deal out of it because that's what they are trying to do...to illicit some reaction from you. And trust me when I say I don't give in. It stresses me out and I toss and turn at night and even thought I was going into labor this morning (it was just some gas...TMI? Sorry), but if he doesn't eat what I give him....he doesn't eat.

So I tried a couple of the tricks I read like ignoring him, changing plates, cutting it a little different.....all those things. I even made myself a sandwich so we could eat together and he could see that I was eating the same thing. But! None of them worked. You know what finally hit the spot? Seriously....I think it's weird. I let HIM feed ME. Yeah. I asked for a bite of his sandwich and had him feed it to me, made a huge deal about how yummy it was. I did this a couple times...then lifted the other half of his snadwich to HIS mouth and said "Mommy take a bite, you take a bite." He opened a little.....but his mouth opened. He thought it was so funny, and every bite after that his mouth opened wider and wider. I made a huge deal about rubbing my belly and chewing very loudly that he kept wanting to give me more....which....in turn....he kept taking more. Then he gobbled up all his grapes and drank his water and was a happy little kid.

Victory!!! The Mom-pire has prevailed with her own mind tricks!! I felt so accomplished, even though I had to act like the big idiot to achieve what I wanted. But really....when all else fails...act silly and I think the kids feel so bad for you and do what you want. He only ate half his sandwich.....but I'm happy with that because it was SOMETHING. I'm making some mini burgers tonight (with carrots shaved into the meat) and we'll try the same tricks. No more begging, no more fighting....we'll just make a big clown act out of Mom until the food wars pass and the house can be at peace once again.

So may the farce be with you (har har! like that reference too?)

Birthday DIY Project #1 - Invitations

We decided early on that we would have a Mickey Mouse themed birthday party for Will. That was the easy part. Hubby and I came up with a design for the invites, and then I came across these. I was gung-ho to make these. I fell in love immediately and figured I'd make them 6" x 6" to fit the red square envelopes I already had. I bought all of the materials only to find out when I make a template that the size of the paper I would be able to put in the little pocket would be teeny tiny. That little teeny tiny card was to hold all of the info about the party. Unless I was going to use a size 8 font, that just wasn't going to work... I was so bummed! Back to the drawing board!

So I came up with these that are "inspired by" the link above. Thanks to my Cricut & Gypsy, cutting all of the pieces was super easy. They were a little labor intensive on the assembly part, but not too bad. I didn't need to make that many, so it wasn't too big of a hassle, plus that is usually the brainless, therapeutic part of the job.

Invites set the tone of the party, and I think these set just the right tone - FUN!!!

Here's what I used for these invites:
- Cricut
- Gypsy
- Mickey Font Cartridge (for the Mickey head, and the W on the front)
- Accent Essentials Cartridge (for the scalloped border around the main text)
- Primary Yellow cardstock from The Paper Company
- Blue cardstock from DieCuts With a View
- Red cardstock from Paper Source
- White cardstock from Paper Source
- Black cardstock from Paper Source
- White Buttons from Joann's - $1 for 4 or 5 white buttons, depending on the size
- Red square envelopes from Paper Source
- Glue Dots or Zots

It cost me just over $2 per invite, including postage, to send these bad boys out. I had some of the basic cardstocks on hand, along with the adhesives, but I did have to buy more than I anticipated. I definitely didn't break the bank, though! And all of the scraps will be thoroughly used for the birthday banner I'm going to make.

Where's my sick day?

So I told you that we've all been sick for the last week. Will started getting sick last Wednesday, the same day he busted his lip (which is 100% better now. You would have no idea that it was twice it's normal size a week ago. Yay!). His nose was runny and he had the beginnings of a cough. The next day he was sneezing and coughing like crazy. Everytime he sneezed a river of snot came gushing out of his nose and dripped down his face. He learned to run from me as soon as he sneezed because as soon as I heard him sneeze I was right there with a tissue to wipe it before he smeared it all over his face. That was fun...chasing a kid around the house with a tissue. I did become quite the nose wiping ninja though. I can get the job with one pinch/swipe, since that's all the opportunity I got.

I started getting sick around Thursday but managed to ward it off until the weekend for the most part. Hubby's started Saturday, but he managed to go to work as usual. Sunday and Monday were a blur. We didn't do a whole lot of anything but try to rest. Hubby ran a couple errands and brought home lunch, while I hung out with Will at home. Then I ran out to get a couple things and brought home dinner. There wasn't a whole lot of cooking going on except to heat up leftovers and soup.

Yesterday, I felt like crap, but didn't have much of a chance to let myself feel like crap. Hubby stayed home from work and he was a sick mess. Will was still sick, but he's obviously been feeling better in the last couple days. He's back to running around like a crazy kid, squeeling with delight, and weirdly gathering like items in piles. That's his new thing...he gets all of his blocks together and puts them in his lap and then screeches as he slaps them around and spreads them out all over the floor...it's pretty funny. Here you go for some Wednesday entertainment - It is Wednesday, right?



But yesterday there was too much to do for both Hubby and I to be down and out. Laundry was piling up, as were the dishes, dust, and materials for Will's birthday invites. Plus I had two boys to nurse back to health. I did all the laundry, make meals, finished Will's invitations, went to the post office to mail them (YAY!!!), the bank, and Trader Joe's for some essentials. I took Will with me to run our errands so Hubby could stay home and maybe catch a nap. There is no rest for a sicky mom when everyone else is sick too!

It was weird waking up yesterday thinking "Ugh...I feel like crap. Today is a sick day... Oh wait... I don't get sick days anymore". Even if I was working and I called in sick, I'd keep my kid at home with me and probably wouldn't get any rest either. It's an interesting new dynamic of being a mom and a stay at home mom, at that. Something that even after almost a year, I'm still not quite used to. I've been working since I was 15. Even when I was going in college, I still had one or two jobs plus school stuff to do. I'm used to spreading myself thin and thriving on chaos. I must get that from my mom. She's always got a million things to do and is famous for saying she has "NO TIME!". Hee Hee Hee - Love you mom!

So I need some tips. How do you stay healthy when your family is in the sicky dumps? What are some tips & tricks to maybe make everyone's recovery time a little faster/easier/cleaner? I took a few tips from Lani that seemed to help Will's recovery. We raised one end of his mattress, did a steam room treatment before bed, and pumped him full of Juicy Juice Immunity and water. They all seemed to help just a little bit. I am really glad we're getting this done and over with now before Will's birthday so we can enjoy ourselves in a couple short weeks.

Spring is springing!!!!

UGH!! FINALLY!!! The snow is melting, the weather temps are (slowly) increasing, and I'm in the mood for a change of 'tude!!! I've been feeling so down in the dumps lately and I honestly think it's because I DON'T DO WINTER. I love it when the weather turns cooler, I love Christmas....and then enough. I don't need January and February....I'm cool with a 10 month calendar....anyone else?

The past 3 days have been sunny, bright, and in the mid 50's. Yeah....to alot of the Cali folks that read this that's still frightfully chilly...but to us New Jersey-ites...it's not the mid 20's!!! I actually went out of the house today with just a cardigan on!! Wahoo!

The changing weather has also inspired both Sonny and I to do changes to the house! As Heather said here, we are in the mood to re-decorate. I guess it's all the natural changes going on around us and the cleansing properties of spring rain that's got our gears going! I just thought I'd share a few things that make me excited for spring and for ALL the changes to come!

1. We've begun painting the baby's room and are almost done. I've realized that I'm such a slacker when it comes to before and after pics.....I always forget to take the before. I'll be sure to post after pics...but it resembles this pic. We are doing stripes on the wall in a light, light, blue and a silky cool grey-blue.  Almost done.  I didn't realize how hard it is to paint with a child in the house...so we're on weekend 3 (keep in mind Sonny only has Sundays off....so we have to cram a bunch of chores into that one day)....and the tape is coming down this week!  Pictures to come!

2. In the spirit of re-decorating, I actually, finally, after 3 years, bought a duvet. I just ironed it and put it on today. Again....such a slacker with the before pics...but I'm sure I have one somewhere. Here's the stock pic from Bed Bath and Beyond, though.  Each project is going to be a work in progress....but what a difference a duvet makes!!!!

3. I can't wait to plant annuals!!! Although it will be hard with the baby....this is one of my favorite activities that Sonny and I do together. We are always lucky and get a gorgeously sunny day and spend it outside with me pointing where the flowers go and Sonny doing the digging and the planting. I'm not prissy....he just prefers to do the landscaping....so I'm the foreman.

4. Of course the spring fashion is at the top of my list, despite my ever growing belly (the button has popped BTW....which didn't happen last time...so I'm hoping I'm more baby and less fat this time....although I just downed a bowl of cereal.....sorry....mindless ramble). Maxi dresses are at the top of my list, and I'm going to try and invest in some cute cross tops for nursing. It's hard to find a truly unique and fashionable one....but I think these options are decent.  Mainly looking at Old Navy and Gap as money is getting tighter (as always, right?)

Spring is springing by diapersanddivas featuring Old Navy maternity

Items in this set:
GapMaternity: Keyhole nursing top - demre, $22
Old Navy Maternity Slub-Knit Cross-Front Camis, $17
Old Navy Maternity Tiered Chambray Skirts, $15
Old Navy Maternity Striped Banded Tees, $10
Maternity Skirts & Dresses: Casual, Evening, Short, Long, Denim..., $20

I'm just so glad that things are getting done and the weather is allowing us to GET things done!!!  Wahoo!  There's so many more things that Spring has inspired me to do (including having a baby) that I can't wait to tackle them all!  One thing at a time, right?  BTW....any one know how to reupholster a storage ottoman?  Haha!

I'm Not Ready Yet!

I've learned from Field of Dreams that "If you build it, they will come". Well, what if I don't build it? Will it not happen?

I've been a major slacker on finishing Will's birthday party invites. Yes, there have been some major setbacks like a busted lip, a sick baby, and now Hubby & I are both sick. Then I needed to get a few more things to finish it and we ran out of ink in our printer...but I was trying to get them out by March 1st... It's now the 9th... His party is on the 28th...

I think I'm slacking because I don't want to come to the realization that my baby is already a year old! Where did the last 12 months go?! Am I going to be this reluctant every year around his birthday because my baby has gotten another year older? When he's an adult am I still going to remember the day he was born like it was yesterday?

I sure hope so!

I wanted him to be walking by his birthday, and now that he's practically running, I wish he would revert back to barely being able to roll over. It is unbelievable how much he has learned and grown in the last year. Although I must say, as Lani pointed out a while ago talking about when Hunter is sick, I am enjoying the extra cuddles I get from my little man since he doesn't feel good. He's never been much of a cuddler even when he was a newborn. He's always wanted to stand or have you hold him up so he could stand, and now he can do that on his own. He doesn't need me. Here's a sneak peek of his invites. Now that they're almost done (I swear they're going in the mail tomorrow, at the latest), I'm slowly coming to terms and realizing all the other stuff I have to get done in just a few weeks' time. Oy. I am glad that he'll be able to wander around on his own because we're having his party at a park. He'll be able to get a little more out of the experience.

I will be posting some DIY projects as I complete them. Here are a few things I've got on tap:
- Birthday Banner
- Tiered Cupcake Stand/Holder/Display
- Cupcakes
- Favors? Not sure about this one...We'll see if I have enough time.
- Will's Birthday shirt

Baby First Aid is a MUST

HA! On the subject of kids getting hurt (seriously, how ironic that both Heather and I had major kid first aid issues in a matter of days).....Hunter choked.

Yeah...choked. Not in the ninth inning, bases loaded, 2 outs kind of choked....but on a nice big hunk of cheddar cheese while snacking with mom. I meant to post something about this on Tuesday when it happened....but I guess I've been a bit of a hawk since said incident.

So after Hunter's nap we usually have a little juice and a little snack (yes, both of us), and cheese and crackers with either apples or grapes are his favorite (ok...mine too...but I prefer wine to grape juice normally). We camp out on the floor next to the coffee table, watch our Ellen show, and enjoy a treat. Well, Hunter is a dancer, and he gets his groove on whenever something tickles his fancy....namely food. Even when we're in a restaurant he dances away in his chair, waving his grilled cheese all around while he's raising the roof. So, while we are noshing on our snack....he's shaking his tooshy.

Apparently on Tuesday he was shaking it a little too much and coughed, gagged, eyes bulged, and gagged again. All of a sudden I had reflexes I didn't even know existed! Not even asking him if he was ok (frankly I didn't care, he didn't LOOK ok so even if he was fine...he was still getting what came next) I threw him over my knee, arm on stomach, gave him 2 sharp beats with the heel of my hand between his shoulder blades. A long time ago I was a cheerleading coach and had to get certified in first aid, and they taught everything....even the baby Heimlich.

After the second slap a chunk of nice, half chewed, sharp cheddar cheese flew out of his mouth. Pepper, mistaking Hunter for a walking, babbling, dancing vending machine, gobbled up the cheese instantly. Two seconds later Hunter was off dancing again....wanting more snacks....whilst mommy was still telling her heart to slow down and get back on rhythm. It really is amazing how much a two second incident with you're child can wipe out a whole day. I was EXHAUSTED...

Anyway....he's fine....I'm fine...everything is fine. My advice to all you mom's and dad's out there is please, please please, take a first aid class for your child. You don't need to get certified...but find a class at your hospital or community and be prepared. It's amazing that when put in that situation you don't even think about "what should I do"...you just DO. I think it's so crucial to know the emergency techniques that could save your child's life.

Ok...now that Heather and I have thoroughly scared the wits out of people who thought it would be cool to have kids until our posts...we will move onto happier thoughts. My son said juice today, can do the head and shoulders knees and toes song....kissed me about 4 times...and CHICCO is coming out with a double stroller in April!! Finally! More to come on that......

POW! Right in the kisser!

Yesterday was a total and utter mommy fail. :(

It was about 5:45pm. I had dinner going, laundry going, and trying to pick up some of the toys that were scattered across the floor that were a result of Hurricane Will in our living room. Hubby called and he got to leave work a tad early. I had asked him to pick up a couple things from the grocery store. While I was on the phone with him, Will was playing in the living room with one of his buckets of toys. While talking to Hubby on the phone, I figured it would be ok to go put the clothes from the washer into the dryer. Thinking, that will only take 2 seconds...Will won't really move because he seems to be enthralled in whatever toy he has in his hand at the moment and Mickey is on.

Let me preface this by saying he's 11 months old and walking now. He started about 1.5 weeks ago and each day his walking turns more and more into a run. He was and still is a fast crawler. I'm not just saying that because he's my kid and I think he's "so advanced" compared to other kids... he really is a fast crawler. So walking at any other speed other than fast or faster is not a an option for him...

Our washer and dryer is on our balcony in a closet. So I opened the screen door and closed it, but not all the way. The drapes covered the portion that was open. Well, in the 20 seconds it took me to put the clothes from the washer into the dryer, Will managed get up and walk 15'+ to scooch the screen door open even more. I turned around just in time to see him put his hand where he thought the screen door would be, but it wasn't. So he was trying to prop himself up on...AIR...and down he went, face first, onto the balcony floor in what seemed like slow motion. I'm still on the phone with Hubby and all he hears is screaming and me yelling "FORGET THE STORE! GET HOME NOW!". I'm sure Hubby went from going a cool 70-75mph to some ungodly speed to race home.

I grab Will and all I can see is blood. I couldn't tell what was bleeding, so I get him in the bathroom and start to rinse. Ok, it's not his hand... Oh God. It's his face. As I'm rinsing and dabbing, his lip is swelling. With him in my arms, screaming, I go and get his frozen teething ring from the freezer hoping that if I can get the bleeding to stop with some coldness, I can see what's going on. I lay him down and try to pin him down in his fit of screams to get him to let me put this thing on his lip. In the midst of all this I'm trying to use my new phone to dial he pediatrician.

MAJOR fail on the stupid touch screen cell phone... It can do all these amazing things, but I couldn't make a simple phone call with it to save my life. I almost threw it. Not to mention, his Dr.'s number didn't transfer from my old phone and I didn't realize that until right this second... So I had to grab the business card from my wallet and try to dial. They were already closed. I was trying to memorize the after hours number in my head so I could hang up and dial that, and I got the number wrong. Ugh, forget the phone, let's see if we can settle him down and see what's going on first.

Thankfully, I got him calmed down and the blood to stop before Hubby got home. By now, his lip was huge. But at least the blood had stopped or I think Hubby would've passed out or thrown up, or both. I manage to see that it's just his lip that's cut a little - maybe 1/4" tops - but nothing is wrong with the inside of his mouth or his teeth. I call and talk to the nurse at the after hours and she just says to try and ice it. So Hubby went to the store to grab the stuff that we needed originally, plus some popsicles. Yep, Will had popsicles for dinner. I think once the initial shock wore off, he was trying to figure out what was wrong with his puffer lip. He kept licking it and sucking on it. It looked pretty funny and was at least some comic relief. He was even smiling and laughing, which was both funny and sad/pathetic with his busted lip. We should've called him Rocky the rest of the night. Yo, Adrienne...

After dinner, we sat on the couch, watched some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and I held Will as he had a nice icy cold bottle before bed. A small wave of tears came over me as I held my baby boy. Ugh, I felt so bad. I managed to hold it together during all of the chaos because there's a problem, we need to fix it! Focus on the task at hand! He had already been feeling yucky that day with a cough and a runny nose, so he conked out a little early anyways. We put him to bed with a dose of Kids Motrin.

Hubby and I went to go clean up the mess from the craziness. We were in the kitchen when he says "Talk to me. You ok?"
Me: No. I don't want to talk about it.
Hubby: It's ok. He's ok. It was an accident. He's going to hurt himself a lot.

And then I lost it. I was a mess. (The waterworks are starting again just thinking about it! Ugh...) Hubby held me as I just cried, on the verge of sobs. Will's my baby! I should be protecting him and the second I turn my back, it happens. My heart was broken for my little guy. I know it wasn't my fault, but I do have a habit of not closing the screen all the way while I'm doing a quick laundry change, but it's usually when Hubby's home to keep an eye on Will too.

I beat myself all night before we went to bed. I had a knot in my stomach and felt like I was going to throw up all night, on top of having a massive headache from crying. We went to bed and Will only woke up once around 3am. Hubby went and tended to him. It was a good night's sleep for all of us.

This morning, Will woke up with a lip that is red and bruised, but much less swollen. I woke up feeling better that my baby was in a good mood. We all had breakfast together and started the day off well. I'm taking Will in to see his Dr. later this morning just to have him take a look at his lip, and check out his cough and runny nose too. I know the Dr. won't be able to do much but say he'll be fine. It's 30 minutes and a $20 copay out of my life. That's a small price to pay for my piece of mind.

And then maybe we'll go get some ice cream...

Home Improvement...I've got the bug!

So I'd like to start by apologizing to Sonny and Hubby... I'm sorry!

I came across this blog - YoungHouseLove - and sent this particularly fun post to Lani and our friend Tina. Now we are all obsessed with home improvement/decor projects. It makes me want to do exactly what they did! Comb craigslist for a great piece of furniture on the super cheap and make it pretty with a little elbow grease!

Since we (meaning me and my awesome homefries) painted my kitchen, I've been itching to put stuff up on the walls. I have a thing about having blank walls...frankly, I don't like it (you can read more about that here when I did some photo collages). It really bugs me to have nothing on my walls. We have a collection of photographs in the kitchen that Hubby got on his trip to Scotland, which I love. And I want to accent with yellows and oranges in there to help contrast with the slate blue on the walls, which will also tie in the colors in the photos. I really love wall art that has a story behind it. Although sometimes it's ok to put something up because it strikes my fancy and it was on sale.

For some reason, I feel like I should put a clock above the sink. So I've been looking for something fun, orange, and retro. I found a few that, well, strike my fancy...and are decently priced:

kitchen by Heather Birdsell on Polyvore.com

Items in this set:
Gold Swirls Wall Art - Bed Bath & Beyond, $100
Pier 1 Imports - Silver Spoon Wall Décor, $70
Wall Clock "Grass" - (17") : Target, $50
Circles Metal Wall Art - Bed Bath & Beyond, $40
Orange Retro 14" Wall Clock - Bed Bath & Beyond, $30

I have also been looking at wall art. Since we have those pics on the main big wall, I don't know what to put on the wall (in the photo, to the left next to the window). Will artwork clash with the photos? Hubby, Will, and I were wandering around this weekend and saw this giant spoon at Pier 1. Pretty retro and cool. I don't think it is quite us though...as much as I would love to hang it up. Will seemed to get a kick out of Hubby trying to feed him with it. It seems like too big of a section of wall to just leave blank. In my dreams, I would love to get this handsome piece of furniture to go in that corner to house some wine, my cookbooks, and whatever else, but that just isn't in the budget. I suppose I could scour craigslist for a used one...

I have also been contemplating on just painting something myself for that wall. Canvases are on sale at Michael's this week (check out their ad here), and then I could do a mesh of what I like about each wall art piece I've seen and get rid of the stuff I don't like, plus creating the exact colors I want to use. Hubby likes this idea... I'm still contemplating. I'm definitely in a circley mood, so whatever we do, I will be adding something circley to the room.

What do you think? Any suggestions? I'm open to just about anything. Have you seen any cool clocks for above my sink? I'm usuallly not this indecisive...

So this is why God gave me hips...

Will is terrified of the vacuum. We're talking blood curdling screaming with sad, pathetic face that says "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME, MOM?!". It's torture to listen to him scream bloody murder as soon as I turn it on. Normally things that are loud don't bother him to much. In fact, in most cases, the louder the better for him. But the vacuum just strikes the wrong cord with him and it's meltdown city. Sometimes I can get away with plopping him in the playpen, giving him a bottle, turning on some MMC, and vacuuming all of the rooms he's not in. I can hear him crying once in a while, but it's not quite so constant. And then there are other times where he starts screaming the second I pull the vacuum out of the closet. Maybe this whole situation is why I don't vacuum as much as I should...it really is the definition of a chore...

Probably 75% of the time, I give up on the playpen/bottle/MMC routine and just pick him up so I can get the job done in some kind of peace. Let me tell you, it is quite the workout. 20+ wiggly pounds on one arm, while trying to push another 10 lbs around on the floor with the other arm. I usually have to switch sides with him a couple times in the course of vacuuming the house, but at least the job is done with no meltdowns.

So your hips get bigger while your pregnant to make room for the baby's exit, but they stay bigger so you can tote that kid around while you clean up his mess. Thanks God. You're so thoughtful. Now if only we could make an amendment to his rule and have them shrink a little bit once your kid is too big to cart around on your hip... That would make fitting into my pre-preggo jeans that much easier, even if it is 5 years from now...