The Exercise Ball that Saved Everything

Near the end of my pregnancy I bought an exercise ball. It looked something like this:

Ok, so by "near the end of my pregnancy" I probably mean "way sooner than was necessary." Just like packing my hospital bag 3 months before I actually needed to head to the hospital, there is no such thing as "overprepared" in the mind of a first time mom.

My reasons for buying it: 1.) Use in labor at home and 2.) Get some abs after baby comes. Have I used it for either of those things? Nope! Yay intentions! I will say that I got a lot of use out of the one at the hospital though. And that I did do a set of crunches on it. Once, I think. Still, I found that even without my intended usage of it, the exercise ball is probably one of the best baby items I ever bought.

We never got any kind of rocker or glider before Charlotte was born. And I have no idea how we figured this out, but bouncing with Charlotte on the ball was so comforting to her. I can't even tell you how much time we spent on it in those first few weeks and months. Even now, when she rarely ever needs (or wants) comfort in the form of rocking, ect., I will still occasionally get back on that ball with her sitting in my lap and just bounce. And it usually calms her down.

It's funny because we thought it was such a random thing we did with Charlotte, but you wouldn't believe how many people I've heard of doing the same thing.

So pregnant women! People looking for baby gift ideas! Here is one of my top suggestions! It's such a simple thing, yet so versatile. You can use it in the end of your pregnancy (it helped when my back hurt), you can use it in labor, you can use it to rock your baby to sleep, and you can use it to get that pre-baby body back (or so I hear)! And bonus: it's a fun toy! it can be employed as a makeshift baby gate (being a parent makes you creative)! you can even use it to make a giant chandelier! Oh the possibilities.

So there it is: my secret to parenting. Hah not really, my secret to parenting is MUCH deeper then that. But it really was a life saver for us and I just felt like that giant green ball needed to be publically recognized for its service. It will never look good in your living room, but it just might help you get through the tough times.

A definite staple on my recommended buys list!

 

Driving Away

Today I got a new car. This is super exciting for me, of course it is. But despite my excitement, I'm a little sad. My old car holds a lot of memories for me. Trey says that you still have the memories without the object, and while that's true, I can't help but mourn the loss of my first car a little.

 

I mean, it WAS my first car. Well, unless you count the old van I had for a month before it broke down. Which I don't. For many people, their first car is their first taste of real freedom. That car took me to my graduation. It drove me across the country (crying) with my dad when I moved to Alabama for the internship I did after high school. It drove me to Utah, a place I'd never lived and didn't think of as home despite my parents having moved there, when I was done with that internship. And it carried me back to Alabama once more, this time with my mom and all my belongings, when I decided to marry a southern boy.

 

That car took us on our honeymoon, to my first trip to Disney World and to North Carolina and back again when we made a move that taught us a heap of hard lessons. And it carried us on our last drive as "two" to the hospital, and our first drive home as a family of three.

 

It has absorbed countless meltdowns, both as a teenager and a young adult, when my car was the only place I felt I could cry. It has barely contained my energy on chilly nights when I would roll down the windows and sing at the top of my lungs. It has astounded my senses by somehow fitting more than seemed possible of my STUFF on several moves.

 

It has exasperated me when I had to work my butt off to pay for it, when it always seemed to get flat tires when I was alone with no one to help, and in the end when it seemed to throw problem after problem at me.

 

I didn't fully realize what it meant to me until I started typing this. And it may seem silly to feel so many emotions about a car. But sometimes, when I was lost, that car was the only thing that felt like home. And sometimes I think we need to acknowledge our feelings and be sentimental.

 

So hopefully I, and my family, will create such special memories and moments in this next car. And hopefully I can wave goodbye to those old memories and take another step down the highway of my life.

 

 

Little Germ Monkey

 

Over the last 3 months I have been sick more times than in the last 3 years. I can only assume the thanks for this belongs to my sweet angel baby. I really can't think of another explanation! The child doesn't even go to daycare (where I hear all germs are born)! The bonus to this situation is that I get much, MUCH sicker than she ever seems to get. Not that I want her to be sicker (or sick at all), I just want to not be sicker (or sick at all!)

The sore throat I'm currently nursing (going on its second week and persisting despite antibiotics!) is the reason I'm giving for this doodle and post in place of the thoughtful post I tried to write. Man I'm getting off to a good re-start on this blog!

 

Circus

Just a little late-night doodle.

 

Comeback

Not much has changed since I last wrote on this blog. Nearly EVERYTHING has changed since I last wrote on this blog! In my last post I wrote that I had one more month left in my pregnancy. Little did I know that "one month" would turn into 6 weeks, and carry me into the next year! In the interest of time conservation and for the sake of my typing fingers, I have made timeline to catch you up on the past, oh, nearly 11 months of my life:

Yep, that about covers it!

So I went from being a pregnant girl who'd barely held a baby to a full-time, stay-at-home mommy who does nothing but hold a baby all day long. Well, maybe not ALL day, but you get the picture. Speaking of babies, I think I hear mine on the monitor right now. Yes, my life involves things like "monitors" and "pacies" now. Ok, see you in 11 months!

Haha just kidding I should be back before then;)