A handy guide: How to go overboard for a first ear infection.

I have tons of friends who are pregnant, just had a baby and/or are experienced moms. So what does all that mean? Why does that matter? Well you get advice and words of wisdom and old wives tales from everybody and anybody...add in the pediatricians advice and you get this! Total ridiculousness {is that a word} It took me approximately an hour to get her into the bed from bath. I didn't even have time to say prayers or read her a book.

So here it goes:

Snot, rosey cheeks and her first ear infection...so what's a mother to do?

To start: bottles, lots of bottles and formula prepared, saline nose spray, boogies wipes, montior, ibuprofen and antibiotic. CHECK!

Cool mist humidifier, vapor thing that you plug in, matress propped up. CHECK!

Do I have it all? yes. CHECK!

Did I forget anything?

The night time ritual. Vicks vapo rub {bottom of feet, neck and chest}, socks for her hands, vaseline for her hiney and cheeks, aquaphor, lotion for her craddle cap and that brush on the right that got cut off. CHECK!

hmmm...here is to hoping I have everything I need prepared for another sleep{less} {ful} night.

And after prepping for nearly an hour for bed, mama has one of THESE just incase, by some off chance all of this works and she sleeps again. SIGH

Cupcake wine! Love it so much we went to Delaware to get it!

And after all of this I come out in the living room to a sick husband. The house is going under and mama is just ducking, stearing clear and hoping it doesn't take her down too.

Kisses baby girl. I love you and will use every trick in the book I hear or read about to make you better! {or to get a night of sleep again}

Wordless Wednesdays

No words = this picture. Because right now, I just need a silly pic and a smile.

Y3W: Bald Girls Rock

Mohawks too!

He he he...It's my way of being sneaky and getting in more than 3 words. But seriously, LOOK at this picture. I have better ones from my camera, but the pics aren't on this computer, so this will have to do!

What?

Can't see it?

Well geesh, look a little closer. Get right up in the screen if you have to. Now squint.

Told ya it was there!

Happy Blog Hoppin'!

Woah Mama!!!!

Check it out!

Click here

Walking for Babies

Through pregnancy and beyond, when I hear a story about a mother who has lost her baby, who didn't carry to full term or had to deal with any kind of hardship through pregnancy, my heart aches. It hurts me physically. I empathize with that mother, yet there is nothing I can do. I can listen to the stories, I can almost feel what she feels, I can understand but I always felt like there was nothing I could do.

And then on a discussion board full of moms with children around Lyla's age someone made posted a link to donate to a Walk for Babies March of Dimes Walk. And a light bulb went off. There is SOMETHING I can do. I can walk. I have two legs, I have my baby girl and hell maybe I even have a few friends who would like to join me. We can raise money and help little babies. Help moms. Help girls who are pregnant carry to full term! There is SOMETHING I can do. And so I began.

I posted on facebook - sadly only 2 people were interested. I asked around...not too much interest. And just when I was about to be defeated, to give up...I realized I can't. I can't just not do this because it was "too hard" or "I don't have time". I have to do this, not for myself...but for anyone who has had to go through something like this.

And so I am. I sent out a big e-mail, hopefully others will join me. I have set a personal goal of $200.00 a team goal of $1000.00. Go big or go home...right?

So here it is. Your chance to help. I think I will post this weekly, since I can't figure out how to get it as a gadget. Here is to hoping that I can help, even if it is just a drop in a bucket!

My family

I can't even imagine how many photos I will be taking and how much I will learn when I start to read about all I can do.

My family.

Everything and Anything will go in this ones mouth!

Bubble Guppies and Daddy, her two favorite things.

no words. Just makes my heart happy.

First grill cheese! NOM NOM NOM!

Lyla and the great outdoors.

A walk on the greenbelt!

Well it's Monday

And somehow it feels like I missed the last two weeks because J is back on 11-7. SIGH. And here we go again.....

However, we are experimenting this week. We are bringing the sitter in for a few hours each day in hopes that J will be able to get a few more hours of sleep, in turn, making our lives a little easier. BOTH of your lives.

So here is to hoping ... right? {cheers}

Last week was a rough one. I mean ROUGH. With all the nanny drama going on {yes that is all I'm typing on this public blog about it} and Lyla teething and just the regular old thing called life, I had had enough of it. By Friday I was ready to throw in the towel, put my hands up and just go ahead, stick that fork in me - that is how done I was. Wine didn't even sound appealing {although I did try that on Friday and Saturday}.

I couldn't and wouldn't stop beating myself up about not being a stay at home mom. Wondering and just beating myself up about if I made the right decision with the nanny {sitter}. Maybe I should have done daycare. Maybe I should have interviewed more people. And then, Saturday, like a ton of bricks it hit me. I did the right thing. Regardless of all of the drama and stress and ridiculousness of the service, we made the right decision. Lyla is at home, with her dada {most of the time}. She is loved, treated extremely well and she loves her life. She is happy, healthy and thriving everyday. So what was I beating myself up about? Nothing is perfect in this world. And as a parent I realized more than ever that life is certainly not easy. But you have to do the best you can. You have to believe and have faith that you are doing the best you can. And when things get bad and I feel like I did on Friday - I HAVE to tell myself and remind myself that Lyla is happy, Lyla is loved and Lyla is healthy as can be. And for this I am so grateful. A smile from my daughter when I walk in the house after a long day at work and nothing else seems to matter. When my husband looks at me - REALLY looks at me and tells me he loves me, nothing else matters. My life is everything I ever wanted and dreamt it would be, and more.

I am done beating myself up. I am done stressing about things I can't change. I am done looking at the negative.

I am done......being done.

And some pictures????  NOPE no pictures today. Because that guy up there ^ I was talking about, you know...my husband...well HE went out and bought mama a little surprise on Saturday. A brand spankin new Nikon Digital SLR 3100 Camera. Holla. {Picture me raising the roof right now, dancing around my cubicle}.

So, I spent most of my weekend behind it snapping away. Letting myself go. Maybe that is what calmed me? What made me realize. What made me appreicate. Because nothing makes me feel as good as letting go, being creative and getting that sensation that takes over your body... I love my new therapy.

So today, in honor of the death of my point and shoot and the new life of my DSLR camera...I have a video from my iphone. Turn up your volume and listen to our little princess talk! This is what I am blessed to wake up to every.single.morning of my life. Well, most mornings...as long as she isn't grumpy!

Disclaimer: Do not mind my creepy dada voice, I had just woke up. Also, the bedroom was dark that is why nothing is showing....so just listen.

Happy St. Patty's Day

We are all decked out and ready for the parade on Saturday. Thought we should do a trial run of our outfits.
Dada was too tired to get dressed up with us {he acts like he worked for 16+ hours}

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Nona

Nona! Grandma, Nan, Grammy...you know what it means and

That's right. She now says "MaMa" "DaDa" and "NoNa" {that would be my mom}! I picked her up this morning and driving home she starts saying it in her sing song voice. It was ahhhhdorable! I called my mom to tell her and she said "I thought she was saying that" LOL.

Now, some may say she has no clue what she is saying, maybe not, but I like to think that she does. And I think she is amazing! I mean 8 1/2 short months on this earth and she is saying things and, I feel, knows what she is saying.

I love her. And by her I mean I love Lyla and I love my mom. They are my best friends!

In honor of Lyla's new word - we have pics, because when don't I have pics in a post...right?!

Vintage Meeeee and my Nona

Me and My grandma (sadly I don't remember her) 



Compare...

Look closely

A little closer

O.K. Definately nothing like me? Are you sure? Drab.

 

So keep on talking away Lyla because Mama, Dada and now Nona are all listening to ya sweetheart!

Kisses.

Can I get a little love???

Doesn't look like it!



I mean really????

 My dad {god bless his soul} has been going up in the attic and trying to organize me and my brothers pictures starting from birth. I had high hopes...high high hopes that when I got to see some baby pictures that she would look just like me. But it just ain't so.

I tried squinting, I tried holding it far away and looking at it close up. I tried everything! She is daddy's girl through and through. They are even looking at me the same!

SIGH.

Good thing I think he is absolutely adorable too!!!!

Look at my two favorite people in the whole wide world. I am one lucky lady and I just can't stop smiling.

So much to blog about.....

Let's start with the fact that my Seven Sling came!!! Whoop Whoop. When we arrived home yesterday there it sat, just waiting for me in the mailbox. I was so excited I could barely open up the package!

I do not have an opinion on it yet. I wore her for a little bit last night and I did enjoy having more use of my arms and not listening to her scream every time I walked out of the room. But I'm not sure if it is going to work for me the way I had hoped. Going to keep trying it out this week and see how it goes. But as requested here are some pics of me wearing my baby girl....yep....it definately sounds as wierd as it looks.

{don't mind me and my drecatude....we had JUST gotten home and I was a mess...a hot mess}

So I will reevalute and decide if this is going to work or not at the end of the week! I am still trying to convince J that if this doesn't work, I have got to get the Ergo. We shall see.

Now....on to the weekend!

Saturday J and I headed out to Dog Fish Head as planned. I was a little worried about what I would drink while there because honestly, I do not like microbrew beer...and I have tried a few, honest I have. So we arrived and checked out the menu. There was a beer called "Lawnmower"....sounded interesting and I thought, what the heck, I'll try it. {check off #77 on the life list} So happy I did. It was delicious and now I'm on the hunt to try to find a case of it. I also had a bloody mary made with their vodka, and oh my, they were not stingy with the Vodka. J had 2 other beers {don't remember what they were} and he loved his too. We had a delicious, to die for Chesapeak Pizza - crab, asparagus, mozzarella, tomato and basil - it was as delicious as it sounds! Later we went to a place called Bethany Blues for dinner with the family, it was delicious and we can't wait to take some our friends there when they come down this summer!

This is J and I feeling nice after our little lunch at Dog Fish Head! {we were in desperate need of this time together and we had a blast}

Sunday we took the girls up to the beach!

My parents went out and bought this awesome camera and have no clue how to use it and have no interest in learning, so I spent a lot of time behind the camera this weekend. I want to steal it.....SIGH. J says we can get one if we hit the lottery {fingers crossed}

And of course, my our little angel!



What a good girl, eatting up her brocolli.


















Awesome weekend, hoping for an awesome week!

Y3W: We Are Beachbound...

Well, almost. I have exactly 2 hours and 1 minute of work left. Then I am heading home, packing up all of Tanks food and getting on the road as soon as J gets home!

We haven't seen our "beach friends" since Labor Day, so excited for that! J and I are heading to Dogfish Head Brewery on Saturday for lunch while Tank stays with Nonnie and Pap. And Pap might be taking us all to Bethany Blues for dinner on Saturday, where I am seriously considering splitting a bottle of wine with my drinking buddy {dad}. I haven't been there yet, but it is my dad's new favorite restaraunt. {SIGH} This is just going to get me all excited for warmer weather, flip flops, t-shirts {which I am wearing today, but FrEeZiNg} and the boat.





Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Don't forget to turn your clocks back!

I miss you too much....

So Miss Lyla,

 I miss you too much, think about you all day and want to do nothing but kiss you all.night.long when I get home. Since I didn't have any recent pictures of us together, I thought I would take a break this morning and get some pics of us having our morning "fun". {Poor Brutus didn't get fed and Dwayne didn't either, but the pics were more important}. I'm hoping this will help me at work. When I get the really bad miss you pains I'm going to look at these!

We were total and absolute goofballs this morning! Maybe it is the excitement for the beach or maybe it's just your smile, but girl you make me HaPpY!

Last night you picked up your bottle off the floor with both hands, put the nipple in your mouth and started chugging. Just like that ::snaps fingers:: you just do something! You are amazing.

So...what's so funny in those pics? well....

1. I put you in a laundry basket {I was doing laundry this morning} I laughed so of course you laughed. I used a tutorial on some camera settings that I had read and started snapping....you are just so natural in front of the camera! ha ha.

2. umm....is there really an explanation needed?? Neither of us could stop laughing...must have been the light.

3. I was snorting like a pig...we discovered that you think this is the funniest thing since tickles! When you laugh, I laugh. When you smile, I smile. You Lyla Ann...Light up my life every.single.day.

I love you.

The After updated....

This is updated pics of the nursery. It is not what it looks like now...it has become more "practical" such as baby wipes on the dresser etc. But you get the idea

http://mrsdullysdwelling.blogspot.com/2010/04/after-98-done.html

To: Lyla From: MaMaMa

Lyla one day when you are a mommy I want you to look back on this and realize that you are being paid back for everything you did to me! {evil laugh}



This is how a day in the life of your MaMa goes: {well this is how today went anyway}

5:00 a.m. wake up call by none other than Y - O - U. {sometimes I get to "sleep in" until 5:30}

6:00 a.m. I get in the shower {if I didn't shower the night before} I bring you into the bathroom with me and give you some toys to play with. You scream every morning that I get into the shower, I have no clue why.

6:15-7:00 I get ready for work. I used to put you in your pack n' play in our bedroom or on our bed surrounded with pillows, but as of this morning you officially want to have free roam of the bedroom, so onto the floor you go. {You scream, talk, yell, cry and laugh this entire time}

7:00 Breakfast is served! You throw your food all over the floor, your tray, me and yourself. You scream when I put you in your highchair. You scream and cry while I am making your food. You want to feed yourself and want no parts of me feeding you...yet you get frustrated feeding yourself and cry again. Then you laugh because I get all bent out of shape. I have no clue how to fix this problem, so I do a 1,2 combo move.....I give you a spoon let you grab and eat whatever you want with your fingers, face or hand but I have my own spoon to get some stuff in there so you don't get fussy {because I'm smart like that}.

Sometime between 7:00 and 8:00 you finish breakfast and we play on the floor, jumper, excersaucer, or you just want me to hold you the entire time.

Other duties that are required of me in the morning above and beyond what is listed above:
Clean up after you. Maintain clean clothes to go to work. Clean up the kitchen. Feed and water the dog & fish. Pack my lunch & breakfast, drink as much coffee as I possibly can to function all day.

8:00 I leave for work, talk to your Nonnie on the phone and listen to my country music.

Arrive at work and check my e-mail and start my work day at 8:30.

12:00 I either run errands I need to run, pay bills, do check book, or go home and feed you lunch. Go shop for something...diapers etc.

1:00 Return to my work day

4:30 leave work

Arrive home

5:00 Feed you dinner, clean up from your dinner, start our dinner.

5:30 Play with you, try to keep your from crying hysterically because again, all you want me to do is hold you most of the time. probably because I'm not with you all day.

6:00-6:30 starts bed time routine. Bath, book, bottle bed...good night.

7:00(ish) I eat dinner. Pack lunches. Prep dinner for the next night. Prep the coffee. Clean up the kitchen from dinner. Clean up your bath mess and toy mess. Check e-mail and Facebook. Sort mail...you know, those fun adult like things.

8:00 or 9:00 Either shower or pass out.

9:00 - 5:00 a.m. - Wake up about 15 times to check on you or get a drink or pee or to just stare at the ceiling.

{repeat all over again}

So - that's what it is like to be your mommy on the "average" day {or at least since yesterday}

And I wouldn't trade you for the world.

Supposedly you started to say MaMa when I am not around, I haven't heard you yet, but I believe it because I have been trying to brainwash you since birth.