My Mommy-Mobile

Yes, folks, I've finally joined the club. This past weekend, we purchased a beautiful Toyota Sienna. It's packed with tons of technology, because Kevin wouldn't have it any other way. It's already been a dream to drive. Ethan is able to get in and out of his car seat without me having to lift him, which was getting quite difficult. I can't imagine how much easier it will make my life after Princess Pinsky is here!

Finally, here's a picture of me at 19 weeks. (I'm actually 20 weeks now, but still haven't taken that picture. Eeek!)

2012 ~ Our Year in Review

2012. 

As I look back at this year, I realize how much life has changed, and how far we've come. Here's a look back at our year....

Thoughts: Working Mommyhood {Part 1}

Thursday was my first official day at work. Even though I have going in to school consistently for the last month, yesterday was the first day that I was required to be there at a certain time, and stay there until a certain time.

I'll start by saying I'm a bit overwhelmed, but I think that's to be expected. I'm used to staying at school until I'm done at a good stopping point. Well, those days are over. I have to leave at a specific time so I can get home to the sitter. {So far, Kevin's had to relieve her, as I've been 15 minutes late each day.} I'm having a lot of trouble stopping when I'm in the middle of things. Then, all I do is think about those things all the way home. 

On the flip side, I've been having some guilt about not being with Ethan. Well, guilt isn't the right word. I'm sad, and jealous of the babysitter for getting to spend all day with him. I never feel that way while at work, but once I'm home and I realize I only have a few hours before bedtime (and those hours are filled with making dinner, eating dinner, bath, and bedtime routine), I get sad. Sometimes I find myself thinking, I hope he doesn't forget who I am. Silly, right? 

Once Ethan is in bed, it's time to get more work done. You know, all the extras that I wasn't even able to think about at school. Then I think, When am I supposed to shower? Run personal errands? Call my eye doctor because I accidentally forgot to go to my check-up and my contacts are forever-and-a-day old? Finish reading my Book Club book? And the list goes on. And on. And on.

My friend, Libby, told me that the first month going back to work is very overwhelming, and then you start finding tricks that help you manage Mommyhood and Teacherhood. I'm very much looking forward to that! For now, I'm doing what I can, and doing it to the best of my abilities. 

Happy 9-Month Birthday, Ethan!

It's hard to believe that it's been nine months since my little man was born. It seems like each day brings new changes and developments, and it's exciting to watch him grow.

Stats: We have a doctor's appointment this week, so I promise to post Ethan's stats. He's been quite the eating machine this past week, so I can't wait to see how that translates on the scale.

Likes: This list continues to grow. Ethan exploring cause-and-effect relationships. He throws things on the ground, listening for them to hit the floor, he bangs things together to hear the sound, and he has learned how to push buttons on his toys to make them work and play music. Ethan has also grown quite fond of Tobi. He loves to grab pet Tobi, and thinks he is hilarious, even when he's not doing anything! Ethan has a babysitter, Ali, who stays with him so that I can go to work and prepare my room. He LOVES her, and she is wonderful with him.

Dislikes: Ethan doesn't really have many dislikes. He does show dissatisfaction by throwing little crying fits...we're working on it.

Tricks: His list of tricks has multiplied!! Ethan is "scoot-crawling"...it's not quite scooting, and not quite crawling. He manages to move from Point A to Point B quite efficiently, using this method. Ethan has learned how to get himself into a sitting position, including once he wakes up, which has prompted us lower his mattress. Finally, Ethan can feed himself! He picks up puffs on his own (one at a time, at that), and can get them into his mouth (most of the time). Tobi is always laying in wait by Ethan's high chair, waiting for him to drop Puffs. Unfortunately for Tobi, Ethan's hand-to-mouth coordination continues to improve daily. 

Mom: I didn't think I'd be saying this, but I'm ready to go back to school. The more I've been getting my room ready, the more I realize how big a part of me teaching actually is. I'm still not quite sure how I will juggle everything once I'm back at work, but I'm trying not to worry about that. I think it will just fall into place...eventually!

Just a Taste

Today, I went to school for several hours to clean up and organize my classroom. I'm lucky that my maternity leave substitute did a fabulous job of keeping my room tidy, so I didn't have a ton of work to do. I left Ethan in the very capable hands of my friend, Debra.

As soon as I was handed back my classroom keys, I knew it was happening: I was no longer just a stay-at-home mom. Although I don't have to get back into the classroom for a little while, it is all becoming real. I know that navigating my way through working mommyhood will be challenging. Period. I have some real fears about going back to work, on which I plan to elaborate in future block posts.

For now, I'm just going to enjoy my time with Ethan, and worry about work later. 

Swaddle {Free}

Oh, the swaddle. How I both love and loathe you. From the day Ethan was born, we swaddled him - first, with the Halo Blanket, and then with the Miracle Blanket, which we've been using religiously for naps and at night. 

At first, it seemed to be the answer to our prayers. Ethan would {usually} calm down when we wrapped him up, and started sleeping for long periods at night. Then, I started thinking, when do I stop swaddling him? Most of my friends didn't swaddle their kids, or stopped when their kids were pretty little. I thought maybe I would stop swaddling him when he rolled...but he's been pretty hit or miss with that. Sure, we'd tried here and there to let him sleep without it, but it usually ended up in a screaming fit, and battle of wills {usually we gave in...just to make it stop}. I think we became just as dependent on it as he did! 

I had visions of me having to swaddle a 10-year-old! 

And what would he do in August when he had to go to daycare? Surely, they would not swaddle him, and even if they did, I didn't want him to be that child. You know, the one that has all the rules bent for him, and can only do certain things under special circumstances.

Then I thought, he'll tell me when he's ready. I mean, he "told" me when he needed an earlier bedtime, right? Wrong. The child was content to be wrapped, even though he'd {technically} grown out of his swaddle. 

Finally, Kevin and I took matters into our own hands, and decided that the swaddling needed to stop. Although these ideas might not work for everyone, they worked for Ethan, and they might work for others trying to wean their babes from the swaddle.

• Start Slowly...we started by leaving his legs out. After about two or three weeks, we left one arm out. He did regress, at which point we had to swaddle both arms again, but after another three weeks, he became the "one arm bandit" again. 
• Appeal to Other Senses...we noticed that Ethan had an affinity to a certain giraffe lovie {GiGi} made by Angel Dear. The texture really appeals to him, and he seems to be comforted by it. He takes it with him everywhere he goes. Recently, we found that Angel Dear makes napping blankets! Perfect. We got him this one for his 6-month birthday. I slept with it for three nights, so that it smelled like me. Now, I know  you aren't supposed to put anything in the crib with baby, but in my opinion, You gotta do what you gotta do. I think this, along with a plethora of other things, are a parents' prerogative. For me, I am comforted to know that we use the AngelCare Baby Monitor, which detects a stop in your baby's breathing. 
• Cry it Out {Yep, I said it!}...only you know your baby, so you decide if it's right for you. I know Ethan's cries pretty well, and I can tell a tired one from an actual one. Therefore, when I hear a tired cry, I know I can let him cry it out. I also know that if he works himself up enough, he will never go to sleep, no matter how long I let him cry. Our first night sans swaddle, I had to go in 30 minutes after I put him down, then he started fussing 20 minutes after that, and after 10 minutes of crying, he fell asleep. He woke at 2am and 5:45am, but went back to sleep after his pacifier was reinserted. The second night he slept from 8:15pm to 5:35am, and once his pacifier was reinserted, woke up at 6:15am. Those are wins in my book. 
• Begin with Bedtime...for us, it was because we have a bedtime routine down. Ethan knows that it's time to sleep. Nap times are not at regular times yet, so we were afraid he'd think it was time to play rather than sleep. For the most part {see above}, it worked. He transitioned seamlessly to unswaddled naps after his first night with his blankie, too.

Good luck, and Happy Un-Swaddling!!

Around the House

Lately, I've been feeling the need to redecorate our house. We've been here for almost three years, and I'm getting a little bored with the way things look. I don't want to tackle and major projects, since we plan to move into a bigger place in a few years, I just want to spice things up, and make the space we have work for our family of three.

So...here are some things we've redone recently.

These pantry shelves have allowed me to free up a couple of cabinets, included one for all of Ethan's utensils, bowls, baby food supplies, etc.

A wrap caddy...we now have an empty drawer in our kitchen! The possibilities are endless! {Note: Kevin painstakingly installed it upside-down, and had to redo it...oops!}

I found this idea on-line, but in a kid's room, and thought it would be the perfect thing for our living room. I'm trying to find other forms of wall decor, other than pictures and candles.

Loved this quote, and thought it would go nicely in our living room, too.

Professional pictures {from Sarah, at The Nest Photography}...also in our living room.

Finally, our stairway gallery. Ignore the unfilled picture frame...I'm being very selective with the photos I choose for it. I'm also not sure about the staggered letters that spell out our last name. Who knows, it might grow on me!

Daylight Savings Time...With a Baby

I didn't put too much thought into how we would tackle the one hour jump ahead time change. I know that this is a challenge for moms, as I've read several blog posts and listened to my friends complain about these adjustments. I know that a problem during the "fall back" phase is getting kids to not wake up super early. With "spring forward", I'm sure the concern is getting kids to realize it's bedtime, when it's still bright outside!

Since Ethan is still pretty adaptable, we decided to wake him up at the new 7:45am. Otherwise, I'm afraid he would have slept until almost 9am, and then he would have been up until at least 10pm! Since we just started implementing a 9pm bedtime, I didn't want to lose what ground we'd made, so we chose to forgo our extra hour of peace and quiet in the hopes that we'd regain that hour in the evening. 

Any comments or tips on how to help our little guy adjust to the time change are much appreciated!

2011 ~ Our Year in Review

I saw this type of post on another blog I enjoy reading, called Dear Baby, and thought it was a great idea! I hope you enjoy reminiscing as much as I did!

January: To kick off the new year, I decided to start a book club. I'm happy to say, that almost three babies later (two Ethans and a soon-to-be A.J.), we are still going strong, and coming up on our one year anniversary!

 

February: I spilled coffee all over my old laptop and got my new MacBook Pro. That little act of clumsiness, I found out later, could be attributed to my {then unknown} pregnancy! 

March: The Fox Hill Elementary Math Bowl team won their competition! These kids sure did make their coach proud!

April: Kevin and I, along with my brother, Yuval, and his girlfriend, Michelle, took a trip to San Diego. Among our favorite outings was a visit to Sea World!

May: It was finally made Facebook and Blog official...we were expecting our little bundle of joy!

June: We had a wonderful time {except for the flight delays and late luggage arrival} in Myrtle Beach with our family. Even Cousin Will and Ethan are in this picture!

July: We spent time with lots of friends this summer. Here we are on our friends, Andy and Allison's, boat on Geist Reservoir on the Fourth of July. It's one of our favorite things to do on those hot Indiana summer days!

August: It was so hard to pick a picture for this month, since there were a lot of things that happened. My favorite, however, was the birth of our nephew, Will. He has added new flavor to our family, with his big, beautiful smile, and easygoing nature. (Ethan has a few things to learn from him!)

September: During this month, we finally completed Ethan's nursery. It's a good thing, too, since he decided to make an early entrance in our lives...see next month!

October: Ethan Eric Pinsky entered our lives at 8:04am on October 22nd. He weighed in at 6lbs., 7oz. and 20 inches long. He is our greatest blessing this year.

November: We had a lot to be thankful for this year, like the Little Turkey above. This month, we were also thankful that I was able to take time off from work to start my stint as a stay-at-home mommy. We were very thankful for friends and family who generously gave their time to help us as we navigated the choppy waters of new parenthood!

December: Oh, Tobi! We were hoping to end this year with a bang, and boy, did we! Our dog-baby had surgery on his right leg (left leg to be operated on in early 2012), and began his recovery, which is going so well! In a few months, he'll be back to his old, mischievous self!

Single Mommy-hood...Week 1

This is the week I've been dreading since we brought Ethan home from the hospital...the week Kevin starts work again. As most of my blog readers know, Kevin is an IT Consultant, so he travels for work. This means that I am on parenting duty by myself from Monday morning through Thursday evening. Needless to say, I'm a little nervous. 

I have a great support system around me, with tons of friends and family who are willing to bring me meals, hang out with me, or watch Ethan. It's not the days that bother me...it's having no break from day through night, through day through night...you get the idea. 

Here are some things I'm going to attempt to figure out this week, as a single mom of a newborn:

1. How you make an outing by yourself with a baby...and all his stuff. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow.
2. How to care for a dog alongside an infant. Hopefully, I can remember to feed him twice a day, give him his pills, and let him out to do his business!
3. Host Book Club...with a baby. Really, this is a favor to me. I'm not comfortable taking a two-week old baby to the restaurant where we normally meet, so my Book Club is coming over to my place.
4. Shower. I made sure to get one in on Sunday, but at some point, I'm going to have to do it! 
5. Make Defrost my meals. We're still living off all the food we made and froze during my pregnancy, plus the food people brought over (and we froze) these last two weeks. I still have to remember to take them out of the freezer in the morning, or else I'm out of luck for dinner!
6. Tidying up around the house...we'll see how far we get on this one.

Wish me luck, and if you have any advice for me on how to accomplish any of the tasks above, please share!

Feeling Motivated

Kevin and I are back on track...with the nursery, that is! After a six week hiatus, we're back in the game! This week, we ordered a beautiful (and SUPER comfortable) upholstered glider and ottoman set in slate. We also ordered the crib mattress.  

Kevin overhauled the closet. He took out all the old bars and shelves, which were not conducive for a baby. After seeing the plethora of holes in the closet walls (and the fact that the closet was a disgusting pastel pink), he decided to putty and paint the inside of the closet with one of the aqua colors we chose for the rest of the room. Next, he put up the new set up, where we have two rows for hanging clothes and a bunch of shelving for baby's other needs.

I did some decorating, which involved Eric Carle Hungry Caterpillar fabric, needlepoint hoops, and double-sided tape. Thanks to my friend Marissa for this idea! We also found some Hungry Caterpillar wall decor stickers, so we put some of those up as well.

I'm not going to post any pictures of the room until it's complete, so you'll just have to take my word for it for now...it's looking ADORABLE!

Honey, I'm Home!

I'm very excited, because starting this week, Kevin will be working from home more often. We're not sure how long he'll be home each month, but anything is better than his schedule over the last few years. Right now, it looks like he might be able to swing three weeks at home while on this project, and one week on the road. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this scenario. 

Here are the pros and cons of a traveling husband:

Pro: I can get school work done at home each night without feeling guilty; I don't have to worry about cooking dinner every night; I can watch what I want on TV; I can sit in silence after a hectic day at school...not talking to anyone; airline miles and hotel points for fun getaways.

Con: I can only stay at school for a limited time each day because Tobi is at home waiting to be let out; I can get bored and restless at home by myself; we have to pack all of our quality time into two days and three nights; we split our limited quality time between ourselves, friends, and family; I have to sleep by myself; when it snows, I have to do all the shoveling by myself; Kevin's flights are so unpredictable in the winter.

I know that Kevin is a bit less excited than I am to have him home, since he'll be cooped up in the house each day, but in the end, it will be nice to see each other for more than 72 hours each week!

Conversation Hearts...How Times Have Changed

Have you ever had the type of day where just when you solve one problem (and pat yourself on the back for avoiding disaster), another springs up? That's the kind of day I had today at work. 

To remedy my rough day, I'm popping Conversation Hearts like it's my job. Reading those little hearts are so nostalgic. It takes me back to a time when I knew nothing of phrases like "International Baccalaureate", "annual yearly progress", "data team meetings", and much more. Instead, my biggest concern was which Valentine to give to which classmate. (You wanted to give the BEST and BIGGEST one to the guy you liked, but opted for the more generic one in the pack for the guy you didn't want to "lead on".)

I don't know if you've read any Conversation Hearts lately, but I highly recommend it. I remember when they said stuff like, "Kiss Me", "You Rock", or the ever popular, "Be Mine". Now, I'm reading things like, "Text Me", "LOL", "U Go Girl", and "Got Love?" It's interesting that little things like Conversation Hearts reflect how times have changed! Twenty years ago, I don't think any of those would have made sense to me, and now it's the norm. Just conversation hearts food for thought!

I don't know if anyone will respond, but I'll throw it out there. What is your favorite Conversation Heart saying??

Resolutions

It's that time of year. You know, when you walk into the gym and it's PACKED, because everyone has made a resolution to lose a few (or more than a few) pounds. Now I admit, I've only been to the gym once this year, and I do plan on going more. I have decided not to join the masses and make a gym resolution, since I'm almost positive I won't be able to keep it. Making New Year's resolutions are a wonderful thing to do, though. They force you to take a look at how you are living your life, reflect upon both the good and bad things, and resolve to make positive changes. So, in the spirit of the New Year (and the new decade), I've decided to make the following resolutions. Some are big and some are little, but what is important is that I am changing to better myself. Resolution #1 ~ Drink at least 6 glasses of water before consuming other beverages. A caveat to this one: coffee does not count. This means that it does not count as water (even though it's just flavored/caffeinated water), but it also doesn't count as another beverage since I MUST have it in the morning. I thought of this one because I snack quite a bit, and I tend to get really tired in the afternoons and evenings. Hopefully, it will help to eliminate both of these issues. Plus, there are other benefits to drinking lots of water like healthy skin and maintaining muscle tone. Resolution #2 ~ Leave school by 4:30pm. I have been spending WAY too much time working at school. While I still spend time in the evenings and on my weekends on school stuff, I'm at home with Tobi and Kevin while I'm doing it, not holed up in my classroom behind my desk. Grading on the couch is way better than grading in my classroom! I must admit, last Friday I stayed until 5:15, but to make up for it, I didn't do any schoolwork at home ALL weekend! Kevin and Tobi had my undivided attention. Resolution #3 ~ Get back to doing the things I love. I love Yoga and Israeli Folk Dancing, and pre-Kevin, I did both religiously. Now, I do neither. I found a Yoga class on Saturdays that I will test out this weekend, and I will be at Israeli Folk Dancing class on Monday evening. Doing things that I love help to relieve tons of stress. These two particular hobbies of mine are good for the body, mind, and soul. Plus, Happy Wife = Happy Life....so true. There they are...large and small. I'd be interested to hear about any resolutions that you made. If you haven't made any yet, I hope I've inspired you to make one!