The kind of Mom that I am.

It’s been a crazy week. I’ve had a hard time emotionally and physically and my days have been long. Missy B had been facing her own babyhood challenges; getting the super flu vaccine, the change in her routine for daylight savings time and you can't forget about her never ending teething saga. I too had the vaccine and it really wiped me out. I was exhausted which meant for challenging days and nights. Much much better then having the flu 4SURE as my immune system, even with intense supplementation is shit. Granmama was ill, Brad had been working extremely long hours and tears were shed by me and my sweet girl. As a result, I have been extremely low and sad and felt like I wasn‘t measuring up as a Mom because I was having such a hard time. Missy B is now in a frustrated and inquisitive stage where she wants to do everything but her balance and her walking hasn't quite caught up to her. So there have been some bumped heads, meltdowns and tantrums when trying to convince her that a little afternoon nap would do her good. I guess I never really realized how tight our schedule was around here for meals and naps and with the time difference, she has been having a tough time. It has been hard. I wasn't even able to find peace in my dreams at night.. I have been plagued by nightmares and restless, listless sleeps which put me back to napping when Miss B napped which wasn’t often. But 20 min rest of a tired body and mind really does help out.

I was jus totally caught up in feeling at fault for how she was feeling and for feeling so crappy myself. Hey...I'm only human.

On Sunday, I seemed to have turned a corner. Brad had the day off and I had a bit of a break. I shopped by myself in a store mindlessly for 45 minutes and it's amazing what a little retail therapy can do. Brad, being the amazing Dad that he is, really helped me to relax on our family day together and even indulged me in a little memory snappin' in the warm afternoon sun.

But today I really seem to have pulled myself together. I actually was shocked into it at our Baby/Mom class where I realized what an amazing Mom I truly am.

I'm like a totally KICK ASS Mom compared to some of the Moms that I witnessed today.

Here are a few of the reasons for my awesomeness:

I am a leader.
I will always stand up for what I believe in.
I never follow the crowd, even if that means that I will be left standing all my myself.
I am always friendly but have little time or use for small talk.
I have been blessed with huge amounts of common sense courtesy of my Mom (Granmama).
I never or will ever embarrass Missy B.
I will never let her eat paint or chew on paint covered paint brushes regardless whether the unqualified instructor says that the paint is non-toxic. (That happened x 4 in class)
I will never let her drink paint because I am too busy chatting and laughing with the other "Moms" about how funny their babies look, down to only diapers and covered head to toe in paint. (happened x2)
I never laugh at Missy B when she is crying. (I think that they were all guilty of that. Happened x8)

**Explanation of the painting could be a whole other post but I'm not going there. The cliff note's version - all of the babies were aged 7-12 months and the setting, materials and idea was not suited for the developmental level of our group. Let's just say that Missy B and myself stuck out like sore thumbs but with a little hand-over-hand she painted me the loveliest picture. She was happy and ready for a refreshing ba-ba afterwards without a speck of paint anywhere on her. Unlike all of the other babies who were incredibly upset. It was like I was in the twilight zone.


My Mantras for today....
I will always be the best Mom that I can be, even if it means that my best one day is not as good as the day before.
I will always love her, be there to wipe her tears and play for hours and hours in whatever kind of imaginative way that she wants me to play.
I may not have the best vision, the most energy, or have loads of money stashed under my mattress but I am one of the best Mother's out there.


　
"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."
~Washington Irving~

Run amuck.

There are some days here in Mommyhood that just totally run amuck.

Our day was started early....very early in fact at 2:30 am early when Missy B decided she couldn't sleep.

After some convincing, back to dreamland she went but then was up before the crack of dawn. She wanted to party and she believed that she had an excellent excuse as today is her Daddy's birthday.

After turning her nose up at breakfast, it became pretty clear that something was off.

Ahem.... her 6th tooth is going to come through any day now. I did some mouth investigating and sure enough, her little gum was swollen up like a little encapsulated tooth balloon.

Mother nature sure isn't giving me Missy B a break.

And it wasn't even 8 am when she had already discovered Franklin's dog dish and emptied it all over the floor. ***side note: She is starting to crawl fast and she seriously may have broken the worlds fastest crawl to the dog dish record. I haven't moved it out of the kitchen yet as Franklin doesn't do well with change.

Speaking of FRANKLIN; He is the world's worst dog. I could write post after post about how bad he is. I know what they say. Bad dog = Bad owners and I admit that we may not be perfect but he has ISSUES! You know he does....you've seen his cameo's on Miss B TV.

This morning, he decided to join in on the fun and it wasn't even 9 am before he discovered a pee-pee diaper on the couch that was on route (I promise) to the diapy bin. I guess he thought that it would make me happy if he shredded it into a gazillion pieces. My carpet - did I mention that I just had it cleaned!!!- was covered in a mussy jelly mess.

It's a good thing that he's good looking cause that's all he currently has going for him.



Morning Naptime was a bust.
Lunchtime was a bust.

So after lunch, I decided to dress her up, gave her a maraca to chew on and started snappin away to help pass our run amuck day.



That maraca was MAGIC! After a good long chew, Missy B drifted off into a peaceful slumber and woke up in a much better place.

And I had a beautiful, hot cup of steaming Lady Grey Tea and shut my brain off for the duration of her two hour nap.

I had originally planned on this post being about Brad - since it IS his birthday but he er....got bumped.

Maybe tomorrow.

Don't worry - he's used to getting bumped these days.
But just you wait! I am totally going to write a post about how he totally rocks our world.
And I made him Taco's for dinner so he's happy.



P.S. Did you know that I am famous??? The BLOGBABY called me out mentioned me in her post yesterday. Checkity-Check it out!

Growth.

I was editing some photos the other day and I came across one that quickly turned into my fave newborn picture of Brielle.

When this photo was taken she was just 3 weeks old. She weighed in at a little over 6 lbs, measured almost 19 inches long and as you can see, had the skinniest little legs. The little shirt that she was wearing was size "newborn" and the flowers on the little socks rattled when she kicked her tiny feets



It shocks me when I look at this picture because I sooooooo don't remember her being this tiny.

Probably because these tiny moments were so fleeting. The rapid growth of infanthood is incredible and you seriously have to revel in each moment.

Cause they change SO fast - in the blink of an eye.

Today we took her to the Pediatrician for her 9 month-ish check-up.

And we found out that, 9 months after the sweet picture above was taken, she now weighs in at a whopping 20.5 lbs! And she is 28 inches tall!

She is in between the 50th and 75th percentiles across the board.

She is amazing!

And just for fun, I put her on that exact same chair today for a little photo.



My little baby is turning into the most beautiful little girl!


***********************************

Breaking news from the tub.....

Tooth # 5 has broken through!

Brad saw the little flash of white during bath time.

Of course I didn't believe him as I had my finger in her mouth today feeling all around.

But I had only felt the bottom gums and ignored the top as my baby book told me that the toof pairs usually come in on the bottom first!

But sure enough - the sharpest of sharp little teeth has cut through - her left incisor.

That explains it all.

The melancholy regarding food and her bottles yesterday.

The up-two-times-in-the-night last night.

And the 2 doses of Tylenol to calm her complaints.

I will say it again - she is AMAZING!

Sunday Citar

"Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts.

That's what little girls are made of.

The heck with sugar and spice."
~Bethany Hamilton~

Fast Forward & Miss B TV.

Ever since Brielle mastered the skill of crawling, her development has been in fast forward.

She says Mum-MA all of the time and mostly when she needs me.

This past weekend alone she learned how to wave, clap, PULL HERSELF UP ON THE FURNITURE and hold her bottle by herself.

Tuesday, she started to eat finger food. (Hello - pincer grip!)

Yesterday, she was able to perfectly tolerate chunkier food.

And today, she started CRUISING while holding onto the bottom stair.

It's quite clear that she is turning into a toddler and leaving the baby stage behind.

Time is SO fleeting but I have have enjoyed EVERY single moment.

Even the poop.
Even the teething.

Oh and here's a little Miss B TV for your viewing pleasure.

*Warning*

You MIGHT end up giggling as a result.

Trick or Treat.

Oh... are we a little early this year?

I couldn't wait.

I had to share this cuteness.

Introducing....

Little Flower
aka Miss B.

Now give ME her some CANDY!!!

You know - that kinda blog candy**????

Of the comment kind?

TRICK OR TREAT!

DING DONG!

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN!

**Real candy will be accepted too.