Life's Lessons: Scary things

1. Hurricanes? Are scary.
   
   
2. But I've been through several, so I have great advice.
   
   
3. Make sure you have lots of water in the house. And your flashlight batteries charged. And cookies. So many cookies.
   
   
4. And if you have to evacuate, do it. Think of it as a slumber party.
   
   
5. And then, wherever you are, breathe. It will be okay. Even though it's scary. I know.
   
   
6. Speaking of breathing, I need to do that more.
   
   
7. And face my fears. Which, umm, you may have heard about.
   
   
8. Because really? In the end, that's how you beat them.
   
   
9. When you list everything you're afraid of, suddenly it becomes clear which things don't matter.
   
   
10. And which things really do.
    
    
11. I want to do work that matters.
    
    
12. And surround myself with people who feel the same way.
    
    
13. And stop worrying about the people who don't.
    
    
14. So thank you all, again, for your kind comments the other day. You all make my list.
    
    
15. And that? Makes life less scary.

Life's Lessons: Things I can't control

It's time for more life lessons. I know my life lessons are usually witty, but this week I'm feeling quieter, and hopefully a little wise.

1. When I am at work, and Baby is with daddy, I am not in control.
   
2. And that's okay.
   
3. The two of them can work things out. Really. And I need to let them.
   
4. I also can't control the traffic, or the fact that last night it took me an hour and a half to go 10 miles.
   
5. Sometimes I get angry when I can't control things. And that's okay. Because, duh.
   
6. Even when I'm angry, I need to be kind.
   
7. Because kindness? Is everything.
   
8. I think I am starting to see what it is that I want to do, what it is that matters to me. And I don't know if I can do it. But since I've started to see it, I've been happier and calmer.
   
9. This blog does me a world of good. Not because of pageviews, not because of money (which really, I never meant to be the point), not because of awards, but because of me. And mostly because of you.
   
10. You guys? Are awesome. Thank you for listening to me whine, for your DMs and emails, for cheering me on all the time.
    
11. All I can control, really, is what I do here. What happens to it after, is out of my hands.
    
12. And you know? That's okay too.

Life's Lessons: The house guests edition

I will not be talking about my baby's sleep today because it's bad luck. (Take from that what you will. I sure didn't say anything.)

I *may* be talking about my own sleep a little though.

1. When you have out of town guests coming, and you've saved all the cleaning for naptime, don't lie down with the baby "just for a minute."
   
2. Staying up until midnight talking to said guests? So not as fun as it was 10 years ago.
   
3. Real friends won't notice the dishes in your sink. Or if they do, they won't say anything.
   
4. Coming up with ways to entertain yourself and your friends is much harder when everyone has babies.
   
5. Apparently? I pack light and am an easygoing traveler. Because I don't bring every single item of baby gear with me everywhere I go.
   
6. On a related note? In case I haven't said it lately? Breastfeeding is awesome. Because I totally bring those everywhere.
   
7. Speaking of which, DH was home with the baby last night while I tutored. She screamed and fussed and tore his eyes out the whole time.
   
8. When I got home and nursed her to calm her down, he said to me, "I don't understand why you don't just leave her on there all the time."
   
9. Umm, yeah, sweetie. Thanks.
   
10. I am starting to think having a baby has made me a bit of an oversharer.
    
11. I can't even blame the sleeplessness for my loopiness anymore because I slept last night.
    
12. I said *I* slept last night, people. That's all I said. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Life Lessons:The graduates

1. Baby Girl and I are officially Baby Swim graduates. No applause necessary.
   
2. I’m actually very proud of us, considering how we started. We have come a long way.
   
3. We have come a long way in a lot of things actually. We’re doing pretty okay.
   
4. Which isn’t to say we don’t still have bad days. We so do. Both of us. Bad.
   
5. And we’re still not sleeping. I think we’re sleeping less.
   
6. But, despite all that, I’m really starting to think we’re going to be okay. That I don’t suck at this mom thing. And she doesn’t suck at the baby thing.
   
7. Just in time because she’s almost not a baby anymore. (Sob!)
   
8. Speaking of bad days, my dentist suggested I let her chew on a frozen washcloth when her teeth hurt since she isn’t crazy about teethers. She looked at me like I was insane.
   
9. Someone else suggested I give her a bowl of water to play with while I was washing dishes, so she’d think she was helping. It took her 3.2 seconds to dump it on the floor.
   
10. I think I’m going to stop listening to suggestions for a while.
    
11. But anyway, what was I talking about?
    
12. Oh yeah, so we graduated from swim class. Baby Girl is practically drown proof.
    
13. I’m getting there, too, sweetie. I’m getting there.
    

Life's Lessons: The Wedding Guests edition

We went to a wedding this weekend, and so we've been out of town since Thursday. (Can I claim that as the reason I haven't blogged in two weeks?) It was a pretty hectic trip but I came away with some great lessons:

1. A seven hour car trip is the ideal cure for a nap strike. Thank God.
   
   
2. People think you're brave and admirable when you take a 10 month old to a wedding, which is strange when it wouldn't occur to you to go anywhere without her.
   
   
3. When brides tell you, "it's totally okay if she cries during the ceremony, I don't mind," it's best to ignore that advice.
   
   
4. Crying rooms? Are good. Very good.
   
   
5. My friends want to steal my baby. As soon as I got to the cocktail hour, my friend's wife said, "You need a drink. I'll hold her." And then disappeared.
   
   
6. They always come back to me when she cries though. Or poops.
   
   
7. Champagne? Also very good.
   
   
8. Baby food in pouches is the most ingenious invention ever.
   
   
9. Baby Girl is a party girl. I don't know if it was the strobe light (ooh pretty) or a particular fondness for The Black Eyed Peas, but as soon as daddy got her on the dance floor, she started laughing and singing. (Although, the words are "tonight's gonna be a good night," not "Dadadadada." Close enough, sweetie.)
   
   
10. When you are breastfeeding, you have an excuse to grab an extra piece of wedding cake without anyone looking at you strangely.
    
    
11. Stressing about bedtime is apparently totally irrelevant. My child can party until 10:30, then pass out without a single tear and stay asleep while I change her diaper, wash her face, put on her pajamas, and put her to bed in a hotel crib.
    
    
12. Sleeping through the night though? Not so much.
    
    
13. Going away and having fun is good for me, and it is good for our whole family.
    
    
14. Coming home is pretty darn good, too.
    

Life's Lessons: I'm just like my infant

Time for more life lessons. As usual, they are as much of a surprise to me as to anyone!

1. Teething gel is amazing.
   
   
2. Like, scary amazing. Like, Baby Girl falls asleep on her own the first time I put her down amazing.
   
   
3. Which means my poor baby has been waking me up all night because she was in pain. Which makes me feel like crap for whining about it.
   
   
4. People? I talk about sleep too much.
   
   
5. I think about sleep too much.
   
   
6. I remember a time in my life when I actually SLEPT too much. Remember it fondly.
   
   
7. There are other things going on in my life, I swear.
   
   
8. Really.
   
   
9. There's also food.
   
   
10. Burritos and sandwiches and scones and cookies and waaay too much cheese and crackers.
    
    
11. I lost another pound this week.
    
    
12. Breastfeeding is awesome. Awesome I tell you.
    
    
13. I think Baby Girl and I have a lot in common. We both eat and sleep all the time.
    
    
14. Except she plays too.
    
    
15. I need to play more.
    
    
16. Who wants to play with me?
    

Life Lessons: The completely unorganized edition

1. I am completely scatter brained.
   
   
2. Take my blog reading system, for example.
   
   
3. It isn't one.
   
   
4. I will sit down at my computer and say, "Oh, who should I be reading today? Robin? Miranda? Diana?" and type in their URL.
   
   
5. But sometimes I'll forget someone.
   
   
6. And I'm afraid I come across as a mean, selfish blogger instead of clueless, like I am.
   
   
7. If I do that? Yell at me please. I want to be reading you, really.
   
   
8. Also? My house? A disaster.
   
   
9. I don't remember the last time I mopped the floors.
   
   
10. Which doesn't mean it was a long time ago. Just that I don't remember.
    
    
11. I checked a book out from the library last month because I thought it would be something I'd like.
    
    
12. It was. Which was why I'd read it before.
    
    
13. I could really use a new book, though, if anyone has any suggestions.
    
    
14. Something with a happy ending would be good. And preferably a happy beginning and middle too.
    
    
    
15. But what was I talking about?
    
    

Life Lessons: From my sleepy brain

So, partly because I adore Rach from Life with Baby Donut and partly because it seems like fun, I decided to try out the Life Lessons link up this week. Welcome to my brain.

1. I like chocolate. A lot.

2. Especially when the baby isn't sleeping.

3. You know what else is good for that? Twitter.

4. Also coffee.

5. For the first six months of Baby Girl's life, I thought caffeine was off limits during breastfeeding.

6. Those months are a little fuzzy.

7. Do you know what else is off limits? Wine. I haven't had any since before I got pregnant.

8. I lied. I had half a glass on my thirtieth birthday because my mother in law bought it for me.

9. People? I turned thirty this year. And celebrated with half a glass of wine with my mother in law.

10. That's sad.

11. I mean,it's not my-baby-hasn't-slept-in-a-week sad.

12. Just makes me feel kinda pathetic.

13. Do you know what's good for that?

14. Chocolate.