Fresh Mommy Blog: March 2010

A Little Spring

For more Wordless Wednesday, go here and here.

Because We Like To Do Things in a Timely Manner

Before our little bundle of joy arrived, we ordered this print. It fits in perfectly with the nursery design, though it wasn't part of the original Inspiration Board. That's the beauty of making an Inspiration Board, it's used for inspiration... and the beauty of being a woman, you can change your mind, more than once.

Maybe someday we'll hang it on the wall.

Snap Artist

During a recent photo shoot, where, as a family, we were having a great time hanging out in bed, Aliyah says, "hold on!" and disappears out of the room. Moments later she emerges with her own camera in hand and climbs up the step stool to have a better view of the rest of her family she left lying in bed. "Ok, look at me... Mom, put your arm up like this," as she raises her hand in the air.

She went from model to director/photographer, our little snap artist.

Sunday Citar + Winner

It's Sunday again that means it's time for two of my favorite things... announcing the winner of the $25 Amazon gift card and Sunday Citar!!

Now, it's time to share a quote or two... a favorite, a new find, a laugh inducing or tear inducing quote you love this week! Welcome to Sunday Citar!

“What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now.”
~Anonymous

Each and every choice we make, no matter how big or how small, brought us to where we are today. I'm so grateful for the choices I've made thus far. I wouldn't trade these moments for anything.

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I would love to have you join the Sunday Citar inspiration and have all of us come to your blog to read what quotes inspire you! Simply write your own post on your blog, link within your post to my blog, and sign up with Mr. Linky below, leaving your name and the link directly to your Sunday Citar post. Just click here if any of that sounds confusing. There you'll be able to get the complete rundown, as well as learn how to link back to my blog if you don't already know how. Take a moment a visit a few participants... you'll be glad you did!

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Would you like to know who won the $25 Amazon gift card that I gave away in this post?

Well, it's Kelly with her simply perfect title of "Stuffed"... describing his contented state of sleep after having a full belly. Loved it!

Congratulations Kelly! You'll have your gift card shortly!

There were other entries I just loved as well, and since it was such a hard decision, I've decided to send a $5 Starbucks gift card to these runners up!

"Sleepover" by Briony

"Livin' the Plush Life" by Prasti

and "Creature Comforts" by Soulfuldancer

Thank you everyone for all of your creativity! If you've won, please email me with your contact information.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Fab Finds

It's been quite awhile since I've linked up some fab finds to share with you all. So here is some link love to help keep you busy this weekend.

Because we all like to be busy on our weekends right?

Or is that just me?

Oh wait, I don't like to have busy weekends either.

1. Baking Soda Hair Wash: Sounds a little crazy, but works like a charm. I tried it this week and got rid of all that extra hair product build up. Then I used vinegar as a rinse to balance the pH and my hair was silky and fresh!

2. I Am Second: Amazing! That's all I can say. This is an incredible way to see the testimonies of some people you just may have heard of. Warning: You may burst into tears while hearing some of them.

3. $50 Health and Wellness Products Giveaway: Well, I may be slightly biased, but I think this is an incredible giveaway, hosted by my husband! We use these products and love them. So scoot on over there, comment, and win yourself some good health.

4. Gardening With Kids: This simple mom has some great advice to get your kids involved in your garden this year. We did some of this last year, and plan to more this year!

5. 9 Timeless Nutrition Tips: You probably already know most of these tips, but Spring is the perfect time to clean house... including your body. And remember, it only takes 21 days to make a new habit!

And since every post is better with a picture...

Happy Friday everyone!!

Organize That Closet, Baby!

I'd been looking for a way to better sort through the clothes in Brayden's closet, since I had them sorted by type and color (yes, I can be that crazy... sometimes). And also, since every time we tried to dress him, the clothes we grabbed from the closet were too big to fit his tiny little newborn-size body.

So, I took inspiration and the layout idea from these "Days of the Week" tags, we use the pastel set for Aliyah, and made my own tags to hang on the closet rod to sort his clothes by size.

Life with a newborn has been easy-as-pie ever since!

Or something like that.

Wordless Wednesday + Contest

This photo left me utterly and totally speechless, and wordless, and pitter-patter goes my heart tongue-tied. But one thing's for certain, it needs a name. Since I've found myself to be quite mute when it comes to this photo, I'm looking to you, my vocal friends, to help me.

To enter the contest, leave your suggested photo title in the comments section of this post. No entries after 7:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 27. Winner will be announced first thing Sunday morning. (On my Suday Citar post.) The winner will be chosen based on creativity, cleverness, and the ability to sum up the cuteness of this photo in just a few words.

Grand Prize is... hold onto your tiny hineys, please...a $25 gift card from Amazon.com! Ahhh, the delight.

I'm offering this prize because I love you. Well, that, and I just want to thank you for being here. You're the coolest readers in the world... and I just want to give back, dadgummit.

So go for broke. Search your hearts. Search your minds. Search your belly button lint. And come up with that winning photo title.

Slacking

I was teaching him how to clean. I think he was bored.

today:: march 22

today I am...

enjoying:: a morning at home with my kids

realizing:: our cat, Dolce, needs a haircut again

photo courtesy of Briony, while hanging out at our house last night

grateful:: for good friends that feel comfortable enough at my house to snap pictures of whatever they'd like

working:: on a fun kid's closet organization project... I'll be sharing with you later

making:: myself stop procrastinating and write my little miracle's birth story... maybe

sorry:: for any men that just saw this photo and had an awkward reaction, you never know what you might get yourself into here

fulfilling:: sweet motherhood duties, like hanging diapers out to dry while the sun is shining on our back deck.

needing:: to finish up some design projects I'm working on for a great work that's happening in Thailand

amazed:: at how wonderfully my life has changed since my first, my daughter, was born over three years ago, and now, again with the birth of my son

marveling:: at how much the above photo looks like my newborn, but really it's a photo of Aliyah just days after she was born

glad:: we've learned to take better photos

signing:: off here so that I can play, cook, clean, change diapers, nurse, correspond with Thailand, fold laundry, and hopefully take a shower

Have a great Monday!

Sunday Citar

It's Sunday again and boy has this week flown by! Well, except for the last two days spent miserably in bed, those seemed to last ever so long, but now I'm much, much better. It doesn't matter how old you get, it's still always nice to have your mom take care of you when you're sick, and that's just what mine did... spent a day taking care of me while playing with Aliyah, a treat for both of us. Now that it's Sunday, it's time to share a quote or two... a favorite, a new find, a laugh inducing or tear inducing quote you love this week! Welcome to Sunday Citar!

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.
~Irish Proverb

We've been having more of the former and less of the latter, but working on getting as much laughter and sleep that we can. Hope you are too!

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Let's not worry about semantics

It turns out that we have a future olympian on our hands. Aliyah happens to love her gymnastics lessons, at least most of the time. After her very first 'preview' lesson, following which we signed her up for more, I mentioned that we needed to get a leotard.

Say it out loud. Trust me.

Just do it.

With a slightly upturned eyebrow, Aliyah looked at me and said, "Mommy, what's a tard?"

I Already Miss This

For more Wordless Wednesday, go here and here.

Big Sister

I still can't believe how enormous Aliyah seems when she's leaning over Brayden to give him a kiss, or when she rubs his head saying, "Aww, it's ok buddy, I'm here, it's ok" as he lets out a grunt. It's as if she's walking on skyscrapers for legs and her head is a life-sized bobble. And yet, she's my little girl. My beautiful, sweet little girl, who's taken on the role of "Big Sister" better than I ever could've imagined.

I can't believe another week has passed. I can't believe my little guy is now 3 weeks old. And I can't believe it's Sunday already. It's time to share a quote or two... a favorite, a new find, a laugh inducing or tear inducing quote you love this week! Welcome to Sunday Citar!

They're here to hold
When I get scared
That's how I know
He always cared

I took his hand
To cross the street
I held it tight
To stay on my feet

He always held me
The moment I cried
Except for the last time
Because he had died

But I took his hand
And placed it in mine
And out came my tears
And that was just fine

I'll always know
That daddy did care
Because daddy's hands
Were always there

~Anonymous

There's just nothing like a daddy's love. Nothing can compare to the security of his strong hands. I just adore the daddy that my husband is to our kids. I'm more in love with him than I've ever been.

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I Gave Birth To A Linguist

Today I woke up in one of those fogs while ranting WHO AM I? WHAT DAY IS IT? WAIT, WHAT YEAR IS IT? It seemed like no one in our house wanted sleep last night. Just as I would get Brayden fed and ready to go back to sleep, Aliyah, who usually is a very good sleeper, woke me up. Not once, but twice, JUST BECAUSE SHE WASN'T TIRED.

At one point during the night, as I'm waking to feed Brayden (I think he ate more than he slept last night) I couldn't figure out why my head was so heavy only to realize my cat had made herself a comfortable bed on my hair. Suddenly I'm overcome with the need to cry. As the baby is sitting there wondering why I haven't picked him up to start the midnight buffet yet, I'm all, hold on buddy, can't you see mommy needs to cry too. I just wanted a few moments to have my body, and my space, to myself. While Chris took care of the baby, I had my crying fit and somehow made it back to the bedroom.

But in the morning, that time of day that my little guy just wants to coo, it's all but a distant memory and totally worth it.

The Big Sibling Book

My husband came across this book in a kitchy little bookstore before Brayden was born. It quickly became a fun project for us to work on with his big sister.

She was excited to answer the questions, help glue in the photos,

and draw pictures for her soon-to-arrive little brother.

The first part of the book takes you through the thoughts of the big sibling before the new baby arrives. Then continues on through the first year of the baby's life, interviewing the older sibling, marking milestones, keeping track of the differences and similarities between the kids.

I loved putting in the ultrasound photos.

I had to dig to find Aliyah's, but look, my kids are twins!

Of course, this is what she thought of the image.

I could seriously look through this book all day. It's addicting.

She loves filling in the pages, and can't keep from looking at all the pictures. And I'm sure someday, in a couple of years, when she's making her brother help clean her room and he asks why, she'll be able to say, "Because I spent an ENTIRE YEAR OF MY LIFE making you a book."

The Winner

It's time to announce the winner of the $150 gift card from SkinCareRX.

I considered setting up a random email address and then winning this for myself, but that would be, well, dishonest. And I'm all about keeping things real and open here on Fresh Mommy.

So. Please excuse me while I go change a diaper blowout. There's just a little too much poo leaking ALL OVER. Oh, sorry, was that was a little too honest?

I had to choose a winner.

Here it is.