Out of Control Merry-Go-Round

Is it just me, or do other people sometimes feel like they are on an out of control, demented merry-go-round? I feel like if someone would just let me off for a few minutes I could catch my breath and jump back on. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening for at least a few more weeks.

Thankfully, the amazing women over at Rants from Mommyland put it so poetically when they coined the phrase "The Halloween to Holidays Death Spiral". Unfortunately, I'm right smack dab in the middle of it right now which accounts for my tragic lack of blogging. It's all been crazy. The cooking and planning and decorating and shopping and wrapping and trying to get these stupid holiday cards designed and in the mail. Whew! On top of that we have three friends with birthdays the first of December and with Jay in school I've pretty much been in charge of everything.

But even with as much stress as I have going on, there is one thing I'm not stressing about this year and that's other adults' drama. Past years have been spent trying to please everyone... trying to get my brothers to be nice to each other for just.one.farking.afternoon... trying to make sure both our families were included and everyone felt their needs were met. Well, this year there is only one person I'm worrying about and her name is Turtle. If people have reasonable requests then we will do everything we can to accomodate but don't want to come? That's fine. Want to make the whole thing about you? Sorry. This year (and for quite a few years to come) this holiday is about Turtle and everyone else can save the drama for yo mama!

It's amazing how freeing the feeling is. I might have to extend this Beta Test to other times of the year! I'll be back as soon as I can figure out how to get off this mother-father merry-go-round for a minute!

Daddy's So Funny

When did life get so complicated that we lost the joy in drumming on a trash bag?

Turtle Loves Wrapping Paper

She destroyed half the roll but I didn't have the heart to take it away from her.

Bringing Home Baby: A 3 Month Nice to Have List

Bumbo

    

We used this thing SO, SO much! It was our high chair before Turtle was strong enough to sit up on her own. As you can see we used it when we went out to eat, to watch the squirrels on Grandma's back porch, and to try to help Mama play Catan. You are technically not supposed to use it on a raised surface (like a restaurant table), but we felt comfortable doing it since we were both sitting right there. We never walked away from her and the moment she started trying to stand up out of it, we discontinued it's use. We got ours at a consignment store and I highly recommend this route. This is a baby gear item that is only used for a few short months so you can find ones in good used condition. They are also easy to clean. However, if I had it to do over again, I would get the Prince Lionheart BebePod instead of the Bumbo. The BebePod comes with a strap that will secure it to a chair making it even safer to use as a presitting high chair.

 

Fisher Price Space Saver High Chair

We didn't start Turtle on solids until 6 months, but we've been using this high chair since she was just a few weeks old. Seeing that we have a dog that isn't child friendly, I wasn't able to just sit her on a blanket on the floor when I cleaned the kitchen or made dinner. This was a life saver! I could strap her in here, puts some toys on her tray and talk to her while I cleaned the kitchen, etc. We would have had a hard time finding the floor space for a full size high chair so this one that straps onto an existing dining room chair was just perfect for us. I've heard people complain that it didn't fit on their chairs and was wobbly, but we've never had any problems with ours. We LOVE it!


Playmat

Around 3 months, Turtle became very interested in stuff, and a playmat was exactly what we needed. It kept her occupied while I took a shower or did other chores (up stairs and away from the puppy). Playmats come in all shapes and sizes... and price tags. From what I can see they are pretty much all the same so we went with a small, inexpensive one.

Carrier/sling

    

It was about this time that Turtle decided she didn't like being carried in my stretchy wrap. She has always been a very curious child and being snuggled into my chest was just too boring for her. She wanted to look around. I hadn't been prepared for this and didn't really know what kind of carrier to use at this stage. I tried a woven wrap but found it to be complicated, cumbersome, and hard to tie alone. Finally I settled on a pouch sling and requested a nice one for my birthday. It's super easy to use, quick to get to her if she gets fussy, and allows her to see out when she's either on my hip or my back. In the event that she does go to sleep, it's easy for me to adjust her just a tad and have her snuggled into my chest to sleep. I put her in a hip carry before she was sitting up completely on her own. I just wrapped my arm around her and supported her. But you should not do a back carry (in a pouch sling) until the baby can completely sit up on their own.

 

Bibs, bibs, and bibs

   

At this point, Turtle was the spit up queen! So, bibs were my best friend. I found myself overlooking cute outfits in favor of cute bibs. My favorite one of course was the "T is for Turtle" one, but as far as their usefulness, I like the Green Sprout ones best.

Next Up: 6 Months!

Distraction

We had a super busy weekend! So, I wasn't able to put together a real blog post for today. Instead I'm going to distract you with cuteness while I hope to put together a real post for tomorrow.

Poor girl will never be a professional ballet dancer because she definitely inherited her mama's behind. Sorry, Turtle!

Officially Too Old

Recently, I have discovered that I am officially too old for a few things.

1) Booty dancing. (Although I don't think anyone should really be doing that! But at my age it just looks like a train wreck.)

2) Staying up past midnight. (Which now makes me feel like I have a hang over even if I haven't had a drop of alcohol.)

And after yesterday...

3) Skinny Jeans (Well, actually any fashion item that has the word "skinny" in the title.)

I mean dude! I look like a wanna be hipster/emo boy. Actually... I look like my awesomely cool oldest little brother, except without the cool factor.

See, what happened was, I ran into Old Navy to get Turtle a fleece outfit to keep her warm this weekend.  As I walked in I saw a table full of skinny jeans. Having seen tons of adorable outfits consisting of skinny jeans on Pinterest and given my style-envy/best friend's ability to include them in her wardrobe, I thought, "What the heck! I'll try on a pair!" 

I laughed so hard in the dressing room that I thought they were going to send someone to check on me. Then I snapped this picture and set it to my best friend and brother. Both of whom got a huge laugh out of it! Granted my best friend said if I changed the shirt and shoes I could probably pull it off. But I'm afraid I'd have to have a whole new wardrobe and that would negate the 30% off coupon I have for Old Navy.

So, I have a feeling I'm just too old for skinny jeans. Have you come to terms with being too old for something lately?

Weekend Warriors: Amazing Maize Maze

As a family, we are weekend warriors. We work hard during the week and play hard on the weekends. This weekend we went to the Amazing Maize Maze. I've never done a corn maze, but our friend L loves them! So we all agreed to go. It was actually a blast and I can't wait to try it again next year. Especially now that I kind of know what to expect.

The maze was out at Rual Hills and after the maze we decided that the historic homesteads would be a great place to get some pictures.

Daddy tried out the Boba carrier too and really liked it.  Mama really liked we can now share the carrying responsibilities. Plus, is there anything more awesome than a man with a baby in a carrier?

There was a blacksmith there showing off his skills. 

And a little kitchen garden out by the homestead.

 The front porch made a great place for some pics.

The wind made it a little cold but other than that it was a perfect day!

So, what are the Weekend Warriors up to this next weekend? Well, hopefully a car meet on Saturday morning followed by a trip to the Renaissance Faire. The Ren Faire is something we do every year, and this year I'm so excited to include the Turtle. I think she'll love all the colors and music and activities. We'll see though. I'll make sure and update you all next week!