Juggling it all ...

while dealing with a crazy 7 month old ... HAH! That is what I say about that! I WISH I could juggle it all. Sadly, if I get all the dishes done and a child who is alive and not screaming by the time Hubs come home I call it a successful day. Please someone enlighten me on how you can get everything marked off "to-do" list with a baby who is now on the move (ALL THE TIME!) and going through a new learning period which is making her irritable, whiny and needy. I recently purchased an amazing book called: "The Wonder Weeks" by Hetty van de Rijt, Ph.D. and Frans Plooij, Ph.D.. Let me tell you, the authors really know what they are talking about and hit the nail on the head with each and every week/month the babies are at in their development. Thank goodness I finally broke down and bought it because I was starting to feel like maybe I was giving A too much attention, or maybe not enough attention, overwhelming her with toys or perhaps she wasn't eating enough?! ... and the list goes on. Turns out, A is just at a new learning phase and when this happens the babies are more needy, whiny, sleep less etc. I'm really relieved to know it isn't something I inflicted or brought out of her. PHEW!

We will traveling this weekend to Miami for our first mini family vacation, so please with us luck! We will need it.

One of THOSE days ...

Today is shaping up to be one of "those" days. You know the type ... child goes down for nap (that said child is typically down for 1.5 - 2 hours on a normal day) then decides after MAYBE 30 minutes, they are over it ... the washing machine decides to overflow (right as child decides to get up and practically barrel roll off the bed) after being  told it was "fixed" months ago and then the computer mouse decides to just stop working, ARGH!!!! I have an appt with the dermatologist this afternoon and am PRAYING A goes down for a nap again beforehand so we don't have any mental breakdowns on the subway or even worse, the Dr. office. Lest all those fancy women living in Tribeca witness a child act up in their place of sanctuary ;)

I should have known this morning that we were headed towards a downward spiral when A decided to start throwing temper tantrums at the tender age of 7 months. I mean if this is how she is now, what should we expect come 2 years?!?!

*Warning: This is not the clearest nor the prettiest photo, but it is reality:

Wish me luck folks!!

You know things are getting out of control when ...

your husband says to you: "honey, is there anything I can do to help you get things cleaned up in the guest room?" Now don't get me wrong, he is cleanly (kind of ...), but I clearly let things go around here if those questions are being asked. Yikes!

I suppose I should start maximizing the time I have when the beast is sleeping:

*Following in her parents footsteps with an early addiction to candy ...

 

Today is glorious ...

rain OR shine. It's just far too nice outside temperature wise (think spring!) to not be spending it outdoors!

If you don't believe me, ask this little person below ;)

 

Folks, it's almost over ...

the doldrums of January that is. I don't know what it is about January that makes it a particularly hard month to get thru. Maybe because it follows one of the most festive/happy times of the year .... the fact that the weather was unusually cold this past week or that it's just gloomy and blah. Time for vacation for this little lady/family! Nothing is planned yet, but if I'm not on a plane by the end of February headed somewhere toasty, I will most likely need to be institutionalized ;)

A is almost 7 months old and even though she isn't extremely mobile yet, it is still hard to keep her entertained all day long ... especially when you are stuck inside due to the rampant spreading flu and cold weather.  We have our weekly music class on Tuesday and a few other various mommy-and-me activities to get us out of the house throughout the week, but between trying to keep her on a quasi normal nap schedule and the fact that she is a ticking time bomb waiting to go off when meeting people at bars and/or restaurants, I'm forced to stick close, if not stay IN the home a good portion of the day.

I remember Hubs and I discussing what we each found appropriate for entertaining our child before A was born ... no mobile devices before the age of 16 ... absolutely no iPad ...... and TV?!?! The horror!! Well ... turns out once your sleeve of tricks has been emptied, you will pretty much do anything for a moment of peace and quiet. Case in point: here A sits watching who even knows what on nick TV ...

She was rather enjoying herself, even if it did only give me maybe 10 minutes to do some brainless internet catch-up.

Not only have I learned not to place unrealistic ideals on ourselves and our parenting, but that my daughter cannot rock anything in fuscia. Noted!

Christmas/NYE at the Erhardt's ...

I feel like I have sat on this post now for far too long and I can no long cover Christmas/NYE over the course of an entire post. We are almost into February for pete's sake! Where does the time go? This whole Mom thing makes the days pass through your fingers just like sand. The minute I sit down to write I'm being beckoned from either A's crib or I have 10 loads of laundry calling to me from the hamper.

I'm pretty sure that Hubs would not be too pleased about my picture selection from our tripod test run, but it really is the only photo that showcases a good portion of our small tree. Notice the heart cutout ornaments and the little bearded heads (which I realize sounds totally creepy!). They are a couple of the selected ornaments from Ikea. The bearded folk are what we refer to in Sweden as "Tomte" ... aka the Christmas gnome.

Hubbie also got a little crazy outdoors and decked out the front bushes:

*My personal fav Christmas accessory being the wreath ...

And just because this pic is beyond cute, here is little A with her new friend Katie (whom my Aunt made for A by hand):

*Katie and A had QUITE the convo that night on Great Grandma's chair 

I think that is going to have to wrap up Christmas (no pun intended ;)). Time to move into the present with more regular posts :)

The Holidays

Since this blog is still technically about our UpstateHaven, I am collecting a few pics from our Christmas and New Years spent there. I should have them all uploaded and ready to go tonight :)

Below is a pic (albeit grainy pic) of our living room after we got the tree up. Can you spot the feline?