Wordless Wednesday: Random

Some random sightings from our travel adventures:



L.L. Bean boot in Maine




Doctor Dinosaur (Carnegie Mellon University)





Largest slug we've ever seen (Washington State)




A national park picnic lunch



Good night

Moms love sleep. We obsess over our child's sleeping patterns. Naps are sent directly from Heaven to make us happy. We look forward to our own transition into cozy nighttime sleep.

Moms work hard. Grandmas are awesome. Caregivers of every kind are truly valuable in our lives. They deserve to be spoiled! And what better way to spoil a hard-working loved one than by a gift of comfortable sleep?

I am lucky enough to know the creator of Nite Sweatz, moisture-wicking women's sleepwear. And I received a couple items to try.

I tried an adorable ruffle chemise and an incredibly soft boxer-tee set. I am always warm at night. I'm the type who frequently flips to the cool side of the pillow. So I was thrilled to test these products.
And...
I love them!  Cute, incredibly soft, breatheable and cool.

Any hard-working woman who craves a good sleep will love them too.

Visit Nite Sweatz via their website, NiteSweatz.com. And don't forget the Super Specials page! Several items available for 30% off (through 3/1).

To experience the feel of this amazing fabric in person, take a trip to one of their retailers. Locations can be found HERE.

Nite Sweatz... totally worth the splurge!

Giddy

Tomorrow, I may have to bust out some dance moves and hang out with this guy:



"Snowmageddon 2011" hit us hard. Snowed in for two full days. No school for an entire week. Too cold to play outdoors. Parking lots so slippery that we'd have to risk bodily  harm just to run an errand or two. So after eight straight days of very close indoor togetherness, it is finally time for Amelia to go back to school!

I remember how thrilled I was when she first said "mommy".

Today, I can barely handle one more "hey Mommy".

"Hey Mommy - I need a snack."
"Hey Mommy - I need help."
"Hey Mommy - I want some Play-Doh."
"Hey Mommy - I have poo-poo."
"Hey Mommy - I want a different snack."
"Hey Mommy - I want to watch a show."
"Hey Mommy - I want some lemonade."

Every 5-9 minutes, it's another "hey Mommy." Even when Daddy or other people are around, it's still "hey Mommy." Apparently I have some kind of magical power over the fridge, pantry, and television. And the toilet too.

Don't get me wrong, I love my girl. She makes me laugh and keeps me on my toes. But I am getting desperate for alone time. And it's bad. It is the pull-my-hair-out, silently-screaming-inside-my-own-brain kind of desperate.

It's time for us to have some space!

Weeeekend!

Weekend relaxing and blog-hopping! Thanks for coming by to say hi.

Check out what I've been up to this week:


Monday's child is fair of face...
The age of ME. Talkin' about social media in our lives.

Tuesday's child is full of grace...
Sniffle Sniffle. A GIVEAWAY! Enter by Sunday evening for a chance to win.

Wednesday's child is full of woe (not really!)...
Wordless Wednesday - white stuff!

Thursday's child has far to go...
A time I felt truly relieved. Inspired by Mama Kat's weekly writing prompts.

Friday's child is loving and giving...
Another F2F Friday! Featuring Creative Liar. Want to be featured? EMAIL ME!

Friends 2 Follow Friday: Creative Liar

New year, same F2F Friday feature - but with a couple new questions. And today, with some really funny answers.

Welcome, Ericka! Thanks for making me laugh.

Blog name? Creative Liar

When was your blog born - and why?
Creative Liar was born on December 6, 2010 strictly to save my sanity. Previously, I had a blog called Alabaster Cow where I frequently talked about my backside and my chihuahuas' tendency to leave little gifts all over my tile floor. For some reason, my little stories went over big and I had quite a few followers but I got swept up into the whole advertising/writing posts to sell people's products scene and I realized it wasn't for me. I just wanted to write your run of the mill snarky humor/writing/vegan blog. Isn't that everyone's dream in life??

Twitter/Facebook:
Find Erika on TWITTER
Creative Liar on FACEBOOK
The writer behind the words - list 5 adjectives that describe you.
*Gelastic
*Fatuous
*Balmy
*Iconoclastic
*Facile

I totally just went on Thesaurus.com to look those up. But in all seriousness I'd say I'm funny (at least I try to be), open-minded, irreverent, kind, and stubborn.

Something that recently made you laugh?
My daughter pooped on my husband today. He did not find this to be as amusing as I did but I have to applaud his patience. I would have started a small fire in a waste basket, burned my clothing and commenced a crying session while standing naked in the kitchen. He did none of these things.

A favorite photo?

This photo was my blog button for my old blog, Alabaster Cow. It's a photo of my daughter pleasantly trapped underneath our red couch. Someone asked me once if I put her under there for the photo. That person didn't have children so I allowed it.
And no, she sought the comfort of our dust bunnies all on her own.

If you could spend a weekend by yourself anywhere in the world, where would you go & why?
Hmmm...somewhere to write. Maybe a bed and breakfast with a nice view somewhere in Ireland. Or a shack in the middle of the woods. Doesn't matter. It's the "by myself" part that's incredibly intriguing...

A very long day

In less than three months, my little girl will turn three years old.

Upon the announcement of our soon-to-be bundle of joy, the experienced mamas in my life dispersed ongoing wishes and words of advice. Many of them said, "Enjoy it - they grow up so quickly!"

No kidding.

Amelia's life may be moving quickly these days, but do you know what didn't? Her birth. The longest hours of my life. As my parents roamed the hospital and sat anxiously in the waiting area, they saw several other families arrive - and leave - while I still had no baby.
The books tell you to have a birth plan. The books tell you to know what you do and don't want on delivery day. For me, thinking ahead turned out to be a waste of time and brain power. I had absolutely no control over that day.

I went to the hospital the night before. We were inducing because of increasing blood pressure and other minor issues. Steve watched the NCAA basketball championship game while I tried to fall asleep, knowing I was to experience a pretty dramatic event the next morning.
 

(about to check in)



I will spare all the labor and delivery details, but my body did not cooperate with the pitocin drug. Labor took forever. In fact, Amelia wasn't born until 11:57 p.m. that night, about 30 hours after our arrival at the hospital.

Many things happened that day. Ongoing vomiting, fatigue, thirst, and impatience to name a few. But the most frightening part came when I heard these words...

"We're going to call a NICU team in here for delivery."

Apparently, when my water was broken, thick meconium was present in the fluid (meconium, if aspirated by the baby, can cause irritation, infection, or airway blockage). My newborn baby girl was going to be handed to someone else within seconds of her birth. And to top it off, the medical team wanted the tiny head electrode on her throughout labor, to monitor her stress level. (This electrode is one of the things I had a big NO next to on my birth plan... but when it came down to it, I had zero say in the matter. It was for her safety.)

I was devastated. I was probably too tired and nauseous to properly express my concern in words, but my heart sank. And it stayed heavy throughout the day with the "what ifs".

The "pushing" phase of my labor lasted over 2 hours. Amelia was turned a bit sideways, my contractions were not coming in a helpful, timed pattern, and - surprise - Amelia was enormous. When she was finally born, the NICU team scooped her out of the midwife's hands and began to check her out.

"Lungs look clear. She's breathing fine. She looks great!"

Those were the best words I had heard all day. Finally, relief.

 

 

Prompt #3) A moment you truly felt relieved.

Wordless Wednesday: White Stuff

This is all the snow left when we returned from Christmas travel...

And this is what we got on Sunday night!

(note the southern snow boots...)

(no sled? try a laundry basket!)

***GIVEAWAY!*** Visit yesterday's post, sniffle sniffle, for your chance to win an Achooz prize pack! Easy entry. Winner selected Sunday night.