A Balancing Act

Yes the world is back in balance again...Paris is out of jail, Lindsey has extended her stay at re-hab, Britney is wearing panties again...and I, well I finally gave my notice to my boss earlier this week, and am currently, officially, as of today, a stay-at-home mom...

Now that's a role I never thought I would be in! A mom, yes, but a stay-at-home mom? Not me. But I guess life throws you a bunch of curve balls. My career was finally, finally really taking off. After years of paying my dues, I was finally an Art Director and managing, building, growing my own creative teams and projects. Then all of a sudden, I got pregnant.

The biggest irony of it all? As you know, I work as an Art Director for the Mouse, yes the big one. And so now I have the awesome Silver Pass that lets me and my family and friends go to the happiest place on earth anytime when we want, for F-R-E-E! And yes I enjoyed it when it was just me and the hubby, but now that we have a baby - I am losing it. Boo!

So let me hop on my soapbox and give my lil two cents in on that age-old question, can women really have it all? Yes, I believe so, and intend to. It's the panda in me. I just don't think it can all happen at the same time. Unless, you're Angelina Jolie, that is.

So right now, I decided it's time for me to stay at home with the baby cause like Aerosmith, I don't wanna miss a thang. For some moms, they're good for 2 months at home, then others take a whole year off. Me? I plan to be somewhere in between. I just want a bit more time with the lil one.

Well I guess I'm not completely a stay-at-home mom, since I'll be freelancing during my time off from work. So if anyone is in need of my design help, give me a holler! Oh that, and I also happen to have my own lil side business which occupies some of my time, so hmmmm, maybe I should rethink calling myself a full-fledged stay-at-home mom?

Anyhow...

As I said before, after years of paying my dues, I was finally an Art Director and managing, building, growing my own creative teams and projects. Then all of a sudden, I got pregnant.

So now after 9 months, I'm finally a Mommy, managing, building and growing my own little person, a young man. And all of a sudden, I'm really happy, truly content, and genuinely satisfied.

Yes the world is back in balance again. Thank you Paris.

Strollin' with the Homies

Thanks to my brother, baby truly rolls, or should I say "strolls" in style. He gave us the famous "Bugaboo" Frog as a shower gift. And we love it! Baby loves it too!

Now I'm not getting paid for raving about the Bugaboo, (but if they read this, I'm all for any gifts!) but this is a really really great stroller. It converts to a bassinet, a carseat, and a stroller seat, all-in-one!

Since he's still a baby baby, only 3 months old, we still use the bassinet piece, which is soooo useful, cause it can recline all the way, which allows baby to sleep or chill just lying down without any uncomfy straps, etc. Plus we can easily remove the bassinet piece and use it solely in restaurants, grandma's house, and anywhere we bring baby so he can just rest and nap.

Yes, it's much more pricey than other strollers, but it's so worth it. I guess that's easy for me to say when we didn't pay for it, right? But it's so convenient.

And its handling is really unmatched. It can maneuver so smoothly, even in off-roading situations, like the LR3! My sister was so impressed when she pushed baby around for the first time, cause she was used to having to really control previous strollers in tight situations, but found it so easy with the bugaboo.

When we go to the Grove, it's Bugaboo land, really. There are Bugaboos everywhere there, it's our meeting ground. The babies just ride around in style, and admire each others wheels, while mommies show off the latest Bugaboo accessories they have for their strollers.

So if you're ever in the market for a stroller, I highly recommend the Bugaboo.

(This endorsement was not sponsored by Bugaboo, but the blogger would welcome any appreciative gifts for such a glowing advertisement and recommendation.)

Carry on...Carry on

Baby used to be so easy to put to sleep. In fact we could lay him in his favorite soothing motions glider (a must have!) while he was still awake, and he would soothe himself to sleep. Yes, baby used to be so easy.

Cut to now, 3 months later, and someone who shall remain nameless got baby used to falling asleep being carried, cradled in his arms, and so now baby refuses to be put to sleep any other way! Let's just say there are only 2 primary caregivers, me and the hubby, and it wasn't me! Hmmmmmm.....

Ayayay! So every time now, I have to cradle baby, walk around and wait for him to fall asleep. Heaven forbid I sit down to rest a little, nope, baby prefers we stand and walk around. He insists we carry him to sleep. Who got him used to this again? I don't blame baby, it's the hubby's fault!

I guess it's all good, since lately baby is finally sleeping through the night! Yes he sure is - Allelujah! In fact last night, he was out at 10pm - and awoke for his next feeding at 7am! Score!

So it balances itself out I guess. I'll just carry on, carry on.

Just the Fax

Baby has discovered his hands! It's the cutest thing ever. He just stares at his right hand forever, wondering what it is and in awe that he can control it. He's slowly learning how to bring his fist to his mouth so he can suck on it. He's on his way to self-soothing!

I can't remember discovering my hands. Sadly, he won't remember either. I've just always known they were there, ready to help me move around. Right now, baby's all about his hands. He shows them off to us, as if he's the only one in the world who has em. And as far as we're concerned, he is. He runs the show!

If you think about it, babies are so much smarter than us grown-ups. I mean, they have to learn how to eat, breathe, see, touch, speak, crawl, walk, etc. It's so impressive! Their brains are literally sponges collecting all this information. No wonder he needs so much sleep! He's busy learning all day long!

Today, he's continuing to learn how to speak, he coos constantly. He's laughing - which is so cute it makes our hearts melt. He's practicing his tummy time to learn how to move his head upright, and he's busy trying to master his hand coordination! The fact that he is learning all this is amazing. The fact that he's developing each and every single day is such a big accomplishment! He's a busy little baby. Good for him - give the guy a hand!

As for me, hmmm, today I learned how to accept an incoming fax to our home line.

For baby - it's about the facts.

For me - it's just a fax.

See? He's the genius!

Zip It

Awww yeah!!!...

In less than 3 months after giving birth - mama can zip up and close her pre-pregger jeans again!

This makes me so happy, I need a tissue!

I'm not quite back to my pre-pregnancy weight yet, but I'm getting there. But hey, the jeans fit AND close again...

...so zip it.