Life Changes

I recently read Mommy Confessions blog, and she wrote a list of things that changed once she had kids. You know, the things you can't do anymore, and the things you can do that you couldn't before. She then encouraged us to make our own lists. I think it's a great idea! So, not including the major physical changes I've noticed in my body since having my baby girl (and also noting that my list will be a different too from hers since I have only one child, and a baby at that), here are my lists.

First, the things I can no longer do... many of them being really noticed for the first time.

1. I can't just decide to hop in the car and go to town anymore. No, now that includes the long and involved process of making sure baby girl is fed, changed, has everything in the diaper bag (being an organized person at heart, this is usually something I don't need to look into much), not in the middle of a nap, plus there's the spitup on my clothes that need to be changed, etc, and by the time I'm ready to go anywhere I'm too tired to bother. Haha.

2. I can no longer go to fancy restaurants that play loud music. Found this out last weekend. Funny story. We went to Montana's. Everyone thought our baby was so cute, and she was as smiley as anything... until we sat down. Apparently the place we were seated at had the music bounce around (the bass was the worst) and Marin instantly cried. We stood up and she was fine. Figured out it may have been the half wall we were next to, creating a reverberating beat of music. We ended up eating seperately. One would eat while one held Marin and walked around a bit, then we'd switch off. Not fun.

3. I can't sleep in till whenever I want.

4. No more playing video games till all hours of the night... see #3.

5. No more staying out late with friends... baby has to be home and in bed! And she has seperation anxiety that doesn't let us have babysitters till too late.

6. No more movie theatres. We could go if we could get babysitters, but it is so much more hassle now that we just don't bother.

7. No more laundry day. I used to always do all my laundry in one day. No more. I wouldn't be able to do anything else! Now I'm doing a load a day and it has made my life so much easier.


And now for the list of things that fall under the "I couldn't before but I sure can now" category.

1. Nurse in public with nothing but a blanket covering myself... a blanket that my little one likes to grab every so often... needless to say, both hands are needed! hahaha

2. Changing diapers... not to mention sniffing at baby's butt whenever I think she might need a change...

3. Looking at other babies who are crying and being able to tell what they need too...

4. Holding a baby while doing various errands and chores... I tell you, my arms are going to rival some bodybuilders out there soon enough!

5. I've become rather skilled at doing multiple things at once. I never bothered before... and now I don't have much choice. It's actually quite liberating!

6. Pick up other babies without feeling like I'm gonna break them. Yeah, I've never been a baby person, and now I have no problem. It sure does change when you have your own.

7. Clean up spitup and drool... all the time. I used to think drool was the most disgusting thing. Now I have no problem letting my baby sit and suck on my hand (as long as my hands are clean and didnt' just come from changing her bum). How weird is that? And I've had spitup on my rug and don't feel the need to take out the cleaner every time. The nearest cloth works just fine. It already has dried spitup on it? All the better, now I can feel good about throwing it in the laundry.

8. I now have the ability to change my mind or my routine at the drop of a hat. I don't need to have all my ducks in a row first. I don't fall to pieces if my normal routine just can't happen because of some unforseen circumstance. Good luck finding me do that before our baby!

9. Nurse and make supper at the same time. This must be an aquired skill of motherhood! Mommy Confessions blog had this in her list too!

10. Go to bed and fall asleep... without sitting awake for hours. Never happened before!

11. Somehow along the way I managed to gain the ability to let a baby cry herself to sleep... and cry is just being nice. My baby has lungs! I never thought I'd see the day when I could smile or even laugh at a crying baby because I thought they looked so cute (of course, I only laugh when I know the problem or that there really isn't a problem, just a baby craving some attention).

There's my list. To be honest, I love life with my little girl! A lot of the "can't do anymore" things weren't things I did much to begin with, and now I just miss them because I can't do them, haha. Nothing like taking something away to make you want it, right?

I can't wait to add to this list once we have more kids, and they start running around and playing and stuff. I really want to be able to add "make a game out of work"... I'm sure I can do that, I just haven't had a reason to yet. I'm even anticipating having children covered in mud (well, hopefully mud...) come running into the house and having to pick them up and throw them into the tub, clothes and all, then spend the next hour scrubbing them, their clothes, the floor, the doors, etc (yup, I was one of those kids years ago). And can you believe I'm actually looking forward to that? That is INSANE! I'm a neat freak to the extreme, and I'm looking forward to dirty hands and grubby clothes and muddy feet and cleaning up after it. Even maybe joining in on all the dirty fun myself. I SO want to teach Marin about gardening (and I'm NOT a gardener) just so we can get our hands dirty and find earthworms and bugs and watch flowers and veggies grow and learn about God's creation. I picture us having picnics in the yard, watching the clouds roll by, picking flowers from the garden, playing in mud puddles, eating with our fingers just for fun, dressing up as pretty princesses, tea parties, and if we have boys and girls, having to fix Barbie's head because junior decided it would be fun to make it pop off, or needing to come up with a new hairstyle for one of the dolls who got an impromptu haircut. Fixing booboos with kisses, and the littlest booboos needing bandaids... just because they stick... sigh. It makes me smile.

I never thought half those things would ever make me smile. All I can say is this... I've changed. For the better. And I'm loving it!

More Baby Pics

Ok, I'm sure you are all getting sick of these by now, but I can't resist. I had a little photo shoot with my lil girl again yesturday for her 5 month pics (ok, more like 5 1/2 months... oops). She is holding herself up now, rolling over, and it made for a fun time.

KB Award

So, Lacey from Don't Make Drugs just gave anyone who wants to, this award. The rules are simple... list 7 things that make you happy, and pass the award on to 7 people. Who doesn't want to list things that make them happy?

1. My daughter. Whenever she looks at me with those big eyes of hers, I can't help but grin. It's even harder to NOT grin when she smiles or laughs. Awww.
2. My hubby. Just knowing how much he loves me makes me soo happy.
3. Stationary. I don't know why, but I have ALWAYS had this thing for office supplies, pads of paper, pens and pencils and rulers, staplers of fun colors and hole punches, folders, binders... yeah. Weird, I know. Holding a nice set of stationary in my hand makes me happy. Scrapbooking supplies can fall into this category too... stamps, stickers, paper, albums...
4. A shiny sink. Yes. I love it when my sink is shiny. It doesn't take long and the rest of the house is too.
5. Designing something. Once that design is done, I love it. It feels so good. This also ties into crafting anything... wood, cloth, paper, etc.
6. video games. Playing a good old game just brings me back.
7. Photography! I love taking pictures... which reminds me, I'd love to get a new camera soon (ours is beginning to... fail... in various areas).

There's my 7. Oh, I like the number 7 too! Don't know why. Now to tag people...
I think I'll take my cue from Lacey and say I give this award to anyone who wants to type up their own 7 happy things. Enjoy!

My little girl!

Here are a few pics of my lil girl. I love my daughter! Such a sweetheart!

She's rolling onto her belly now... at EVERY opportunity... she doesn't like it when she wakes up on her face though... how she does it while asleep is beyond me.

She's FLYING! Hahaha. So cute.

My camera is getting old... and not very good anymore. I need to get a new one. A lot of my pictures are turning out blurred. Anyway, that is my lil bit of fun... again... today.

Sunday Cartoons

Here's a little fun for Sunday! Enjoy!