Thursday, December 3, 2009

Nap time

Who doesn't love nap time? It is a break in the day or it should be anyway. It allows you some time to get something done. Or it should.

My one year old daughter used to be a great napper. I could put her in her bassinet when she was small and she would fall asleep on her own with little fuss or fight. She would just go to sleep.

Then around age 4-5 months we were traveling from Omaha to Colorado to explore the idea of moving here. This seemed to really mess up her schedule and her ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

At around age 7 months we finally moved and ever since, she still won't sleep well in her bed. It might be the altitude change or the time change, but I still try to get her to sleep in her bed and fall asleep on her own.

However, whenever I put her down for a nap, she usually cries for quite a while - sometimes up to 20 minutes before falling asleep and then only sleeps 45 minutes at the high end. Yet if I hold her and let her fall asleep in my arms she will sleep an hour or up to 2 1/2 hours.

We have tried fans, humidifiers, lullaby cd's and toys in the bed. I wish I could reset her body, but I love to cuddle with her and hope this may be a phase that will end some day. For now we will take it one day and one nap at a time.

Tween to teen overnight

So my sweet little tween, now teen, daughter Libby turned 13 on November 14. It seems like the transition from tween to teen happened so quick.

In 6 months time, she went from watching the Disney channel and listening to Miley and the Jonas Brothers, to texting and listening to Lady Gaga and the Blackeyed Peas.

She is now more conscience than ever on her looks. Daily as she leaves for school she has to make sure she looks just right. Right clothes, right hair and yes even at times needs to wear makeup.

We recently moved to Colorado and last year in January as we prepared for this move, we packed up items in her room to declutter. Some of the items we packed were her American Girl Doll, some Miley/Hannah Montana dolls and some High School Musical dolls. She knew she wanted to keep these. Other items that she was ready to part with, we gave to some good friends.

After we moved into our house in September though, we started to unpack her boxes and she decided she was too old for the items that we saved in February. This transition seemed to happen overnight for me. I am not sure I am ready for this teenage girl! Luckily she has a baby sister who she decided to save these treasures for.

So now we are dealing with a boyfriend, new teen friends, loud sleepovers and movie and mall dates. I don't remember this transition being so hard with Rick.....

Friday, November 20, 2009

Observing

I love watching Pepper play by herself. Sometimes it is a short lived event, because she is so curious and wanting to get off to discover something new.

She is into books with pictures of babies. She will look at the pages and turn back and forth from one page to the next chattering away and sometimes giving the babies kisses.

Then she moves onto something new. Like carrying Romeo (the dog's) toy around. She wants to give it to him. Sometimes they play tug of war which is hilarious to watch as he is a Chihuahua but thinks he is a Great Dane at times.

Then there are the little things she picks up to look at. She is into getting books off the bookshelf that aren't hers. I have 2 little mini books one is devoted to daughters from my mom and one devoted to mom's from my daughter. She is fascinated by them. It must be the size in addition to the cute little printed pages.

It is so much fun watching a wee little baby exploring this great big world.

Baby babble

Did you ever wonder what your baby/toddler is saying or thinking? I sometimes pretend to know what my baby is saying when she is clearly having a conversation with herself and her toys. My oldest daughter laughs when I put words into the baby's mouth.

I think we need to get a baby translator collar like the dog in UP so we know what they are saying. At least that way we could understand them and not tick them off when we have no clue what they are trying to tell us.

But then again maybe we aren't supposed to know - that is the beauty and mystery of being small. You get to live in your own land and have your own language.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Welcome to SuperMom - the adventures of a stay at home mom

Okay so that is a very windy title for something, but the site name was available. Why am I writing this you ask, because I desperately want to get paid for writing some day. And a good friend of mine once told me, that in order to do that you need discipline, you need to write.

So here I am.

Do I think I am a super mom - well maybe not in the sense that I have special powers or that I am the greatest thing since sliced bread or anything, but I was thinking of something my oldest daughter, Libby's friend said once.

You see I had this pair of shoes, they were rather comfortable for a while and I would wear them a lot. And her friend called them my "super mom" shoes. Kind of funny, so that was the inspiration for the blog title.

A little about myself, for those that don't know. I am 40 - eeks 40 years old. It was a hard milestone. Most people don't think that I look 40 (thank goodness). While just the other day, someone thought I was Libby's sister and not her mom. Little did that person know, Libby is not my oldest.....I also have a son, Rick who is 21 and yes if you have read my other blog (http://pregnantagainat38.blogspot.com/) you know that I have an infant almost toddler, Pepper. She will be an adoring 1 year old on November 27, 2009.

I have been married to my wonderful husband Jim for over 17 years. My how the time has flown.

I used to work in the teleservices industry for over 11 years. But after the birth of Pepper, I realized my hearts desire was to stay at home with her. And my loving husband called me up one day and said go for it - after I had gone back to work following her birth. So we are going on 9 months of being a stay at home mom and still going strong!

This blog will be my outreach to the world, a journal of my adventures as a stay at home mom - welcome friends both old and hopefully I will meet some new!