The Eldest

This weekend went by too fast for my taste.

Or maybe I just feel like we wasted it yelling at/scolding Tiegan.

She was totally out of her element the past couple days. I was shocked at how much she misbehaved. We tried all the classic tricks: diverting her attention when she threw tantrums, making a game out of picking up toys when she said it was too hard... but none of it worked.

The past few weeks I've been feeling a little guilty that I have to be more attentive to Sofia, but this weekend was just the opposite. Jason and I were both constantly on Tiegan about this and that, and Sofia just sat sweetly in her swing for most of the day, except for being fed and changed. I think Miss T is reaching out for attention in all the wrong ways.

For example...

She was pushing around her toy stroller. And flinging it up in the air, coming close to breaking things and hitting people in the head. I asked her not to pick her stroller up in the air - just push it on the floor.

She stopped, locked her eyes with mine, and picked her stroller up in the air. As if to say, "What are you gonna do about it?" Practically ASKING to be scolded. This was just one of many incidents like it.

I feel like we're doing the right things, but it will probably just take a while to catch on. We're trying to teach Tiegan that getting in trouble is the wrong way to seek attention. I guess it's just a delayed sibling jealousy reaction. I say this because she only seems to want attention when Sofia's fussy. She asks for food when Sofia's getting a bottle. She needs help going potty when Sofia's getting a diaper change. Classic call signs.

Don't misunderstand - Tiegan LOVES her sister. She sings to her, holds her hand, and gets her to smile all the time. We just have to remind her that no one could ever take her place.

LG to Q to BB

It's funny that I had to time-travel backwards in order to get up to speed with the modern age.

A while back, my mom gave me her old cell phone (going on 3 years) thinking I could sell it or maybe even use it as a backup if one of my phones ever broke, since hers was on the same network as what I use now. I put it in a drawer and saved it for a rainy day, not really thinking I'd need it, or that anyone would buy it since it was so old.

Recently the day came that I finally got sick of my phone constantly malfunctioning in annoying little ways. So I dug the Q out of that drawer and took it to the Alltel store to see if it was worth switching. Apparently, even though it's a 3 year old phone, it was still much better than the much newer phone I was using. Interesting, especially since phones are pretty much obsolete these days after a few months of use.

I'm now enjoying my new (old) phone and am still marveling that I had to dig something out of the past to catch up to my peers. Well, sort of. The phone's software is so old that I can't install the Facebook app. I'll probably upgrade to a BB in a few months anyway. You know me... always drooling over the latest in technology.

My only question is... do I want a standard Blackberry or the Storm? Decisions, decisions.

How to be Cool

Last Saturday, Jason's mom took the girls to Youth Day at her credit union. They had all kinds of goodies for kids, and pony rides, and moonwalks. I think it's pretty safe to say Tiegan had a blast.

She came home with some plastic hipster shades and a blow-up guitar that she won.



She has got to be the rockin'est 3 year old in town. Especially with the daddy she has...



Psst. The guitar is just for show, people. He hopes to take lessons someday. He's been saying that since we've been married. Which, by the way, will be 4 years on September 10th.

The only year we actually went out and celebrated our anniversary I believe was our first - and we went go-kart racing. HOW INFINITELY COOL IS THAT. Any suggestions for this year?

Round & Round She Goes

I did it! I captured a "first"! I was so worried that with being back to work only 3 weeks after giving birth, I would miss out on many of Sofia's first milestones, like graduating to bigger bottles from the [adorable] 4-5 oz. bottles, first roll-over, first cooing sounds, and most importantly... first smiles.

I've seen her grin before, but this was the biggest "real" smile I've seen yet. So I'm calling it a first. The funny thing is, I didn't even know she was doing it. I was only trying to snap a picture of the 2 of us together from my phone, to send to Jason. I totally missed my own face but got a great shot of Sofia. It wasn't until I reviewed the picture on my phone that I realized she was smiling so huge. She was staring at the ceiling fan. I looked down at her and saw that she was still grinning from ear to ear.

So my daughter is obsessed with ceiling fans.

Come Together... Right Now

I. Just. Love. snuggling this little lady. I know, I say that a lot. But I could hold her all day long if I didn't have stuff to do.

Luckily, I can put her down when I need to. She is such a content baby thus far. She rarely whines and if she does, it's for good reasons like... oh, HUNGER or POOP.

Otherwise, she will happily chill wherever you put her. We are sooo lucky, and I really hope I didn't just jinx it by writing about it, like you jinx a no-hitter by mentioning it before the game's over.

This weekend went by a little faster than I would have liked, but I'm still looking forward to working tomorrow. I really can't relate when people say things like, "who doesn't hate their job?"

I remember working at the Town Crier (when it was the Town Crier) as Advertising Manager, wishing I didn't have so much responsibility. All I wanted to do was sit in a corner somewhere and design all day. That's what I was best at. Now that's my reality and I'm pretty happy about it. Like I was saying in the previous entry, we have a pretty good balance in our lives now between work and family and things are really starting to come together.

Friends of Friends of Friends

Has it really been since TUESDAY that I've posted?

Clearly, my priorities are all out of whack. I'm spending way too much time with my family.

I kid!

Sofia is growing to be quite the bald little chubbins. She's 6 weeks old already. Mothers always say that, don't we? "Oh the time is flying so quickly!" In fact, I can believe it's been 6 weeks. In some aspects it feels longer - like she's been a part our lives forever.

Poor thing is losing her hair up top. She's just such a sweet lil' thang. Shortly after I took this picture, I got a smile out of her. I also have a picture of that, but it's taking forever to send to my e-mail from my phone. So, you'll just have to hold your horses on that one.

I went to my first Lia Sophia party last night.

To be honest, I used to avoid these like the plague (and still probably won't make a habit of going) because I hate being in high-pressure sales situations. I'm just not interested in becoming a Lia Sophia rep. I like my part-time job. I love the balance I have in my life right now. I also don't have extra money to blow and would feel guilty for attending a party but not buying anything.

But I thought, hey, what the heck. A good, clean evening out with the girls is something I needed. So I went with MacKenzie and Brittney and it turned out to be kinda nice. So I decided I'd host a party myself, on September 18. Now I just have to come up with a list of 30 people to invite by Monday. I don't even think I KNOW 30 people.

Top Ten Tuesday: The 2nd Child

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is comprised of my favorite parts (so far) of having a 2nd child, and how much different it is than the 1st. I surprise myself by even writing this, because I never pictured myself as a mother of two. Just having Tiegan in our lives was more than we could have ever asked for. But... you'd be surprised how fiercely you can fall in love all over again.

The idea for this list struck me this evening while I was marveling at how much energy I have. Sure, I've had my moments of exhaustion and frustration since Sofia was born. But in comparison to how I was at this point after having Tiegan... well, there is no comparison.

1. The ability to stay cool & collected. I'm conditioned now. The crying doesn't phase me. I'm no longer freaked out by the unfamiliar shrieking sound. Rather, I sympathize (empathize?) with her sweet calls for help and savor the triumph of putting her at ease.
2. Love multiplies. Exponentially. Did you know it could do that? I didn't, until I had Sofia. I love Jason & Tiegan even more now, too.
   
3. That "new baby" smell. With the first baby, sure - the soothing scent of baby lotions and powders and all that is wonderful. But the smell of formula made me gag. Even worse than dirty diapers. This time, I don't mind the formula and spit-up. I'll just wipe it away and keep on snugglin'.
4. Postpartum adrenaline rush. I had a pretty tough recovery after I had Tiegan. I was out of commission for the better part of 2 weeks and it really got me down. Despite my 2nd labor being twice as long and rough, the recovery process was much faster & easier, which allowed me to dig right back into normal life.
5. The fun of sibling comparison. I love picking out the little likenesses I'm already seeing between Tiegan and Sofia. I'm also surprised and fascinated by their differences. It will be interesting to continue comparing them as they grow.
6. She seems light as a feather. The first time you carry around a baby all day, you probably think your arms are going to fall off and OH MY GOD you just can't WAIT to put that baby down. But after getting used to lugging around a 35 lb. bruiser of a 3 year old, it's a joy to snuggle an 8-pounder in the crook of your elbow. In fact, I'm way better at multi-tasking with a baby in my arm now. I can even text while feeding her a bottle. Not that texting even existed when Tiegan was born. (Did it?)
7. Knowing what we need. And more importantly, what we don't need. Knowing that we're not wasting money on useless baby trinkets is such great peace of mind.
   
8. Improved marriage & maturity. Jason brought this up, and it's a great point. Our communication skills have skyrocketed. We are finally on the same team. In the same concept, we have matured individually to the point where I think we're on the same page. We generally have the same interests and disinterests, and our time together is much more enjoyable. This is for many reasons, but I think the biggest factor is having a 2nd child together. We've had practice. Trial and error. We're getting it right.
9. Decreased stress. You'd think that stress would increase with being responsible for two lives. Nope. This point goes hand-in-hand with number one. Again - conditioning. I'm not constantly watching the clock, worrying about exactly what time Sofia needs to be fed/changed, and whether or not that will conflict with what everyone else is doing. This time I'm confident that I can just handle each moment as it flies at me, and I'm smart enough to figure it out. And it makes life so much more enjoyable.
   
10. Experiencing something new... again. Having a 2nd child isn't just the same ol' same ol'. There are so many new things happening this time around. We get to watch Tiegan's life be totally transformed by having a sister. Our lives are like an endless sitcom, trying to learn our way around... wondering if everything will all work out at the end of the day, and laughing hysterically through the calamity.

Feel free to join in and post your own Top Ten lists, every Tuesday! If you don't have a blog, feel free to write them in the comments here. I'd be interested to see what you come up with.

How to be Good

Oh, appetite, where have you gone?

Not that I'm complaining entirely. Of course I'm loving that I don't have to worry about portions for weight-loss purposes. But it would be nice if SOMETHING sounded good to eat on occasion. At the grocery store, Jason kept picking up items and asking, "how about this?" or, "we could make ___ with ___, does that sound good?" and my answer would repeatedly be, "meh."

Speaking of the grocery store...

As we were strolling through, there was a mother with her daughter - I'm guessing oh, maybe 9 years old. The mother just stared into the meat refrigerator, continually ignoring the "mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy" spewing out of the girl's mouth. As a man came down the aisle to squeeze past them, the girl engaged him in a nonsensical jibberish conversation and put her arms out, blocking the aisle. I could tell he was obviously in a rush and was trying to tell the girl he needed to get by, without being rude. The mother continued to ignore her child, letting her stay in this man's way, even though anyone in a 20-foot radius could hear how frustrated the man was.

Should I have said something?

I wanted to, but I'm non-confrontational, so we went down a different aisle.

I couldn't believe how the mother just ignored her child for so long. I swear she was just looking at the meat, not even picking anything up... just staring like she was lost.

We ran across them a couple other times while grocery shopping, and it seemed to be the same story throughout the whole store - "mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy" and "ignore [blank stare] ignore [blank stare] ignore."

I swore I would never become one of those judgmental mothers, but... damn.

Better late than never

We're going to take a photo of Sofia, in the same chair, at the same angle, with the same blanket, every month. I stole the idea from this fine lady, but unfortunately I can't say our photographic environment is nearly as spectacular.

I decided I was going to do this, oh, 3 weeks ago... which would have given me plenty of time to plan and prepare. But I found myself thinking "HOLY CRAP I'm late!" when realizing she was already 1 month + 3 days old. Oops.

So here is her 1 month + 3 day photo. I was in such a frazzled state I forgot to clear the clothes off the floor for the picture. Ah well... realism.


I've been more into that lately anyway.
Not the whole clothes on the floor thing - the realism.

Sometimes I try to get a perfectly framed, studio-looking shot of the girls, but recently I'm starting to like the more candid (yet still aesthetically pleasing photographically) snaps of life actually happening. I mean - the purpose of these photos is to help keep memories alive, right? So why not?




I haven't used our Boppy pillow for feeding Sofia for a while, and I saw my sister using hers to cradle her baby boy as he was resting... so I thought I would try it with Sofia. She's so small that she just got all scrunched up in the middle, so I flipped her to her tummy. And she LOVED it. We're going to have more tummy time with the Boppy from now on.

Intervention

For a while (ever since I had Tiegan) I have been joking about getting a tummy tuck. I laugh with my Mom about how we could probably get a 2-for-1 deal if we went together.

I am not one of the lucky ones; I will never naturally go back to normal. Just imagine your skin enduring the torture - going from THIS:


to THIS:


In all seriousness, I actually am considering saving up my dough and taking the plunge for real.

I'll give myself a couple years to save and get back in shape, and then I'll see how I feel.
Just remember, folks - I can get back in shape all I want, but skin just doesn't shrink back.

Miss Spelling

Something that, unfortunately, has been occupying the small space in my mind:
People who do nothing but complain about the things & people that affect their lives, but make no effort to change anything.

That being said, I will keep that part of this post short. I just have to get that bug out of my butt. I think about it a lot. Like WAY more than I should, with all the other important things I need to be thinking about... and it gets me down. My sister, a single mom of 2 boys (a 2 year old and 3 month old), recently moved back in with my parents. Ever since, they have been squabbling like we did when we were teenagers. My parents are only trying to help sis out of a tight jam, and if she can get through this short, rough part of her life, she will fly free and be better off.

I love time with my mom & sister. I miss our girls' days out and chats about life & motherhood. Sadly, it's been a little different these days. One of the worst feelings in the world is being caught in the middle of a tense situation between two loved ones. And that's where I've been. One constantly complaining to me about the other and vice versa.

I have my opinions about the situation but I've decided I'm just keeping my nose out of it. This is one of those things where I would be better off saving my energy. Now if I could only keep it off my mind somehow...


In other news,
I have been driving down the same road every day for almost a year since I've lived in this house. There has been the same house on this road, with the same "for rent" sign up in the yard, since I can remember. And I JUST NOW happened to notice it was misspelled.
Yes, it says:
"APPARTMENT FOR RENT."

Other sign misspellings I have taken note of recently in my community:
"Cooming soon: Los Tres Amigos - Mexican Restraunt"
"Need New Countertops? Lanimate & Granite"

I'm sure there are more. Doesn't that blow your mind? I know it does mine.

Also, I really really like my job. Especially when it keeps me busy.

Bleary

Despite the trying day we had yesterday, wherein Jason & I would frequently look at each other and say something like, "Why is this so difficult?" we actually did enjoy ourselves overall.

I think here, Tiegan is doing her "I'm gonna go swimming" dance, or something:



And swim she did.



Sofia and I stayed inside and enjoyed the A/C. She did this while I got the dishes done:



I enjoyed looking out the door to see my loves having a grand ol' time in the water.



Later, the skies turned black. I didn't get any pictures - we were too busy rounding up the gang after seeing "Tornado Warning: Grass Lake" which is not too far from us. While I was rounding up candles and packing a diaper bag and getting squeamish at the thought of spending time in our dungeon/basement, Jason had the brilliant idea to head over to his grandma's. Their basement is a lot bigger and structurally sound than ours. Tiegan was a little freaked out because of how frantic we were, but I tried to let her know it was OK.

The dark skies and the heavy winds were freaking me out a little too, but it was kind of exciting. I've always been interested in big storms and Twister was my favorite movie for a long time. It's different when you have young children, though. All I could think about was getting them to safety. If it weren't for them, Jas & I probably would have just hung out at home to watch the action. If we were thinking about leaving, I probably would have have checked my hair & makeup first. Just sayin'.

The storms ended up passing and there was a rotation spotted in the sky but it never touched down, as far as I know. What a night for LeeAnn to have her baby!

Sofia slept last night from her bedtime bottle (10pm) until 5am! It was her 3rd night in the bassinet by herself and she did great. Yes, the first couple weeks we c0-slept. They say you shouldn't, but believe me, we slept with one eye open every night. It was the only way she'd actually sleep. So, being that I got the longest stretch of solid sleep that I've had since the Dark Ages, why am I more tired this morning than I have been since she was born? Figure that one out.

No Words.

Three and a half... I'm not sure I like this age.

It's the age when INABILITY TO LISTEN kicks in.

Me: "Understand?"
Tiegan: "Yes."
Me: "What did I say?"
Tiegan: "Um... I couldn't hear you, can you say it louder?"

This is no rare occurrence at the Smith household. What a little snot, turning it around on me!

We have a saying around our house that we are all well versed in: "If it's not yours, don't touch it."
We created this phrase and made Tiegan very familiar with it, because she has boundary issues. (As does every other 3 year old on this planet, I'm sure). She has a habit of picking something up, or grabbing something out of your hands, before asking permission. For a while it wasn't so bad. But then I started having to say "Is that yours?"
"No."
"So, if it's not yours..."
and she would finish the sentence: "... don't touch it." And then she would shrug her shoulders and put it down. Or toss it carelessly on the floor. Ya know, whatever.

Something else that bothers me is that she actually will listen and abide by my requests for about 30 seconds once in a while, but then reverts right back to whatever naughty thing she was doing.

Thankfully the naughty things are limited to things like climbing onto the furniture the wrong way, playing with her food or not being quiet when asked. Not serious offenses. But it becomes annoying when I have to ask. Over. and Over. and Over.

I just feel awful, like I scold and bitch at her all day long. But what else am I supposed to do?

The First & Last Thing On My Mind

Feels like everything is falling into place. It just keeps getting better & better.

Jason is settling into his new (better paying, I might add) job, and I'm back to work. We're figuring out a pretty good schedule with the girls and I'm even starting to lose all this extra weight already. I'm not holding my breath until I lose ALL of it, because I think I was probably a little underweight before.

I read something today that brought tears to my eyes. I know a lot of my Mommy friends are readers of Heather Armstrong's blog (aka Dooce). She posted the 3rd segment to her labor story with her most recent daughter, and a statement she made really tugged a heartstring of mine.

"I guess the hormones kicked in, or maybe it was the sharp contrast of going from that amount of pain to none at all, but I was totally high. Like, ten lines of cocaine high. HIGH. And that feeling was so strong and lasted so long that for two days straight all I did was stare at that baby and fall madly, deeply, ferociously in love."

Yes. Totally. She captured how I felt after Sofia was born - something I have not been able to put into words. I still feel that way. Completely swept up and overcome by this enormous amount of love. Not just for Sofia, but for all my family. My mother was right. When my 2nd daughter was born, I would not have to split myself to share with everyone - my love would only multiply.

I'm Back

At the moment, I'm preparing to head to work for my first day back. I have to admit, it seems a little early yet. But I'm glad to be getting back out in the real world. I sure do miss my girls, though. It was especially hard saying goodbye to 3-week-old Sofia. At least we're not paying out the ass for our kids to be with total strangers.

Yesterday we went to the Lansing Lugnuts game. Outings are a little more work with 2 kids.





I had fun. And even though it was a LONG, sun-soaked day, I hope Tiegan did too. She seemed to enjoy it off & on, but baseball games are long and it was tough keeping her entertained. Thankfully it was kids' day at the ballpark & she got to run the bases after the game (along with Daddy and Sofia!). That gave her something to look forward to.

I have no idea what happened to her hair, but it was all kinds of jacked up by this point...



I'm going to have to teach Jason how to make, and FIX, ponytails. ;)

Mourning... but hope?

Unlike certain people who just have all the luck in the world (you know who you are - I could smack you!), I still have a substantial amount of post-baby weight hanging on. It's not a LOT, but I was pretty... um, petite... to begin with. It's all in my midsection. Hello, muffin-top!

This is saddening. Not as saddening as my post-partum period with Tiegan, though, because that was a lot to get used to. My body was changing drastically for the first time and I pretty much had to say goodbye to my perfect tummy forever.

Let's just have a moment of silence for the perfect tummy.


(ca. 1998 - that's henna, not a tattoo)


(2005 - literally weeks before I was pregnant with Tiegan, maybe even days.. LOL)


My retail therapy trip this afternoon went surprisingly well despite the results. I didn't cry, and I didn't try on millions of pants, frustrating myself to no end in the process. I brought home one pair of jeans and one skirt, which is a little less than I had hoped for. But I knew if I kept trying things on and looking at myself in the mirror, I'd just get upset. It's nice to have a good pair of jeans that I don't have to fight with to put on. And that makes me happy. I didn't even spend too much time on that little number on the tag! You know, that dreadfully defining number. The one that magically goes UP about 3 notches for you when you enter a store like American Eagle or Hollister or PacSun. Ugh.

I have a few pre-pregnancy jeans that are not far behind - I just need to lose that fat on my hips... and my belly, which slightly resembles a helium balloon that's been floating around for weeks and has finally lost 90% of its contents but is now shriveled. My dear sweet husband claims he couldn't care less about that - and the butt and thighs are more than welcome to stick around, says he. Unfortunately, my body hasn't responded very well to the exercising I've been doing the past few days. I probably went a little gun-ho and started too early. Oops.

Anyone know where I can pick up a 19th century corset?

New & Improved Scarlet

Because Sofia has been sleeping since her 5:30am bottle, and Tiegan is engrossed in Ruby & Max (I really can't stand that show), I thought I'd take a minute to blog. Oh, and to sip my coffee leisurely while it's still hot, instead of gulping it down after it's gone cold.
...

Wouldn't you know it - the minute I finished that last sentence, I was approached by a hungry 3-year-old and a certain little newborn woke up and finally had that bowel movement she'd been working on all night. HAHA. Such is life!

Anyway.
You can check our Friday activity off the list! We brought our new (well, new to us) car home last night. It's an '03 red Chrysler Sebring Coupe. I've never really been a fan of Chryslers, but I actually like this one. Maybe simply because it's OURS, finally. A second car! I really took for granted having 2 vehicles, until I lost my car last fall because we couldn't afford it. I'm thrilled that Jason & I can once again go where we need to go, when we need to go there without worrying about having to pick up/drop off the other.

And now, a couple pictures...

Tiegan was cracking me up this morning. I was sitting here typing my blog, and she came in from the living room. When I turned to look at her, I couldn't stifle my laughter...



She was wearing one of her baby doll's moses baskets / bassinets as a backpack with a hood. HAHA!! I gotta commend her ingenuity.

And I also just had to snap a shot of my Sweet Sofia, sleeping away in her swing. I am still in awe of her dark, abundant hair! Well... abundant compared to Tiegan's sparse toehead as a baby.



And that's all. End completely random post of the day.