Project Life 2012 - Week 4

First, I celebrated this weekend because I finally finished my 2011 album!  It's done!  I put all the supplies away that specifically go with that kit.  I filled in any spaces that were empty.  I'm DONE journaling.  It feels like the year is finally complete!  And it only took a month into the new year! HA! Even though there isn't a picture for EVERY single day (I'm missing about 50) this is the first project life that I consider complete.  2010 has the pictures in the album, but I only did about the first 8 months of journaling ... and there are a lot more than 50 missing pictures!

On a related note... my inspiration and determination for this year are stronger than ever!  It will be a LOT easier to just keep up with it every week than to go back and fill in 5 months at the end of the year!  It will be a lot easier to just take a picture every day than to go through and cut coordinating card stock into 4x6 and 3x4 cards to fill in blank spots!

Since I was doing about 5 months worth of journaling for my 2011 album I've got a question.  When I'm writing the cards I found I was using "I" a lot.  I think it will be pretty obvious that I was the one putting the album together, but should I be using my name/mommy in the journaling instead of "I"? 

...also in my journaling, I noticed that I use an awful lot of  exclamation marks!! :)

Last comment before we get on with the pictures.  I would love to have my pages done and pictures of the layouts for Project Life Tuesday, but I don't get my pictures printed that fast.  I usually print several weeks to a months worth of pictures at a time so that I don't have to pay shipping on 7-12 pictures every week.  So even though I want to share my completed layouts, this is what works for me.  This is what gets my pictures and words documented every week so that hopefully I don't get behind this year!

Now, the good stuff for this week...

Monday 1/23

Scoot was playing in the kitchen cabinet while I got her more juice and pulled a glass jar down on her little tiny pinky toe.  That was the worst I've ever seen her in pain and it broke my heart that I couldn't make it better with a kiss.  

Tuesday 1/24
Baby Roo is a surprise but I wanted to make him/her an appropriately colored blanket.  So I made two.  And a nice neutral yellow one.  Scoot has a pink one and her special blanket is white.  The yellow one is made exactly like Scoot's special white blanket so we'll see if Roo likes it as much as Scoot. 

Wednesday 1/25
I made Scoot a strawberry smoothie to go with her cereal and banana breakfast.  She sucked down that cup full of smoothie before I could even get to the table to eat my own breakfast.  I'd say she liked it!

Thursday 1/26
It was a beautiful day today so we played outside for most of the afternoon.  Scoot is taking a break after wearing herself out playing a game that involved going up one side of the porch and down the other - repeat 358271638591 times. 

Friday 1/27
Scoot and Daddy sit on the couch and read the paper together. As long as he gets to read the sports section first, Daddy doesn't mind what part Scoot reads and/or tears up. :)

Saturday 1/28
The inside of the laundry basket became Scoot's little cave to hide in.  She laid with her blanket, read a book, talked to her baby, talked on the phone, and even watched some TV from inside.  It's the simple things!

Sunday 1/29
We took Lollie and Pop out to dinner for Lollie's birthday.  Scoot was a really good girl the whole time and loved sitting with Pop after we all finished eating.  She even taught him to play the trumpet on a straw, which both of them thought was hilarious!

34 weeks with Baby Roo

Friday Fragments

My brain is full of random tidbits bumping into each other while floating around in there.  Time to let a few of them out into the world....

* When Scoot was born a year and a half ago it cost us less than $500.  Baby Roo is set to cost us more than an arm and a leg (not to mention the stretch marks and scars that are certain!) all because of a tiny little insurance change. 

* I've been slightly addicted to Strawberry Slushes from Sonic for the last week or so... YUM!

* I lot the crochet pattern that I used to make Scoot's special blanket.  She's so attached to it that I am starting to get worried about what happens if she loses it or it rips, so I was going to make a back up travel version.  Now that the pattern is lost I've become paranoid about anything happening to that blanket!

* I'm obsessed with Valentine's Day this year... which is NOT like me! Scoot is already wearing lots of pink, red & hearts.  I've made her a valentines sensory box and some valentines games.  And of course I'm already craving chocolate! 

* Scoot has an ABC puzzle that she loves to put together and sing the ABC song with.  Tuesday a week ago, the H piece went missing.  I'm starting to go C.R.A.Z.Y! looking for that piece.  Our house (and more specifically, the living room) is not that big.  There are not but so many places it could be.  And every time Scoot does the puzzle, we get to the H and she shrugs her little shoulders with her hands out/ palms up in front of her and says "where go H?"

home vs. work

I've probably got nothing to say on this subject that hasn't been said a hundred times by hundreds of women.  But I still feel compelled to think through this conflict here on "paper."

In May I made a decision not to sign my 2011-2012 teaching contract.  It was honestly the hardest decision I've ever made.  I knew without a doubt that I wanted to stay home with Scoot, but I didn't want to do my family a disservice by withdrawing my income.  I didn't want to put the extra stress of being the sole bread winner on hubby.  I tried to talk about it with hubby.  That went no where.  Hubby didn't want to sway me either way so that I wouldn't be able to blame him later if I didn't like the decision made.  I understand his point, but it made me feel really isolated and lonely in my struggle.  I finally made the decision to quit based on the theory that I'd always be able to get another job later, but my sweet baby would only be little once. 

I LOVE being home with her!  I love not having to wake her up in the morning and shuffle her off to the babysitter.  I love knowing what she's doing all day.  I love being in control of what she eats & when she naps.  I love being able to take her to play dates, story time, and lunch dates.  I love being the one who watches and helps her learn about the world.  I love being the one to kiss her boo-boos.  Being her mommy is by far the best job I've ever had! 

So, if it's so wonderful, why do I miss my job so much?  I know that I've got this rose tinted memory of what it was like to go to work every day.  Kinda like how I don't really remember how painful labor was.  But I miss having a classroom full of kiddos that love me.  I miss having my co-workers close by all day.  I miss doing fun projects with the kids and I miss seeing them light up when they learn something new.  I miss seeing them get so proud of themselves with a new discovery.  I miss feeling important and needed.  I miss having an outside purpose.  I miss being appreciated and having someone tell me that I'm doing a good job.  I miss the paycheck. 

I don't miss all the paperwork and dealing with crazy new rules that change every other week.  I don't miss getting up at 4:30 every morning.  I don't miss all the planning and work that I had to bring home with my every night.  I don't miss the drama.  I don't miss packing a lunch every day and then trying to eat it in 20 minutes.  I don't miss crying on the way to work some days because I hated dropping off my baby. 

I'm harder on myself about how I'm doing as a wife, housekeeper, and mommy.  I have all this time during the day that I didn't have before, so in theory I should be a much better housekeeper.  The dishes and clothes should always be clean, dinner should always be planned, the groceries stocked, the floors vacuumed, toilets scrubbed, and beds made.  I should be singing educational songs to Scoot all day, not letting her watch any TV, playing games, reading books, teaching her letters, numbers & colors, making sure she gets plenty of interaction with other kids and outside play time.  I should have extra time for my husband and making sure that all his needs are met since he's taking care of us.  It's a lot of pressure, and I'm not living up to these crazy standards at all! 

I'm pretty sure I'll feel  some kind of guilt no matter what I'm doing.  Whether I'm home enjoying my sweet girl or working I'll feel like I'm missing something.  I know deep down in my heart that I made the right decision.  Scoot (and Roo) will only be little once and I'm much rather look back on my life and have missed some professional moments that to have missed a day with them.  If I can't have it all, then I'd rather have my kids!  I just hope that someday I won't feel such guilt over my choices.  I hope it gets easier and I won't always feel so torn. 

Project Life 2012 - Week 3 and going strong!

Week 3 and I'm more motivated than ever to make this year's album awesome!  I've been working on finishing up my 2011 album and while I thought I had done terrible at getting pictures during the fall, I've found that I didn't miss as much as I thought I did.  I still wish I had done a little better, but that just gives me something to strive for this year! 

*Blogger is being a pain about the pictures, so things are not lining up like I want them to, but I'm too tired to fight with it anymore.*

1/16/12  Scoot is 19 months old today.  She use to fit completely on this little blanket.  And now... now... well now she barely fits at all and is not interested at all in laying on the blanket for mom to take pictures!

The next picture is 1/17/12 but I can't get Blogger to make a space for me to write directly above it.  I'm trying to just go with the flow here... but it's hard.  ANYWAY!!

1/17/12 Baby Roo had it's very first test.  A non-stress test.  I started these pretty early when I was pregnant with Scoot too, but it was because of high blood pressure.  This time I still can't figure out why we are doing these.  I get to sit and concentrate on my sweet baby for at least 30 minutes twice a week though, so I don't mind so much!

1/18/11 Scoot has a favorite book -  I'm a Big Sister Now - and she reads it all day long!  When she's not asking me to read it 7 times in a row, she reads it to Elmo or her baby.  I love listening to her tell the story.  

1/19/12 (pictures above and below -- another spacing issue)  Our 2011 album has been out constantly while I steal a few moments here and there to work on finishing it up.  Today I "caught" both Scoot and Aaron looking at it at separate times.  That's why I do this!  I'm so glad they enjoy looking back on these memories!

1/20/12 Scoot loves bath time!! All the bubbles are gone and her water looks a little dingy, but she's still having a great time and a nice long bath is a good way to spend a nice chunk of time on a cold day where we don't want to be outside.

1/21/12 We don't always make smart planning decisions.  It was pouring down rain but we decided that today was actually the best day for us to go to Williamsburg.  This was our first stop in Colonial Williamsburg to check out a toy shop for a hard to locate toy.  There were very few other people as silly as us - out in this rain!  We went to the outlets after this and the rain did finally let up. 

1/22/12 Church sure did wear this poor girl out!  I love that she has her sunglasses hanging on her face and her book is still open to the page she was reading when she dozed off.  Scoot always takes her shoes off in the car, so no surprise there!

33 Weeks with Baby Roo and a 19 month melt down. 

Project Life Tuesday 2012 - Week 2

1/9/12  Playing peek-a-boo with Mommy in the most dare-devil way she can come up with!  We may have to keep the curtains closed until she is done with this climbing in the window phase.  She doesn't play with the window at all if the curtains are closed. 

1/10/12  A nice warm January day calls for some quality park time!  Scoot is a huge fan of climbing the steps to any and everything.  She is not at all fond of the swings right now.

1/11/12 Right after bath time Scoot went to find her 'bank' while I dried my hair.  When I was done I went to find her and was surprised that she had climbed into Mommy & Daddy's bed, gotten under the covers, and was saying "night night."  I love that she has 1 foot outside the blankets -- just like Mommy sleeps!

1/12/12 Miss Scoot kissed her first boy today!  J loved the hugs and kisses, but Daddy was not so happy when I texted this picture to him at work!  Scoot is grounded until she's 30 according to Daddy!

1/13/12 We went to Bass Pro Shops to watch the fish (and pick up some stuff for Daddy).  I love the was Scoot talks to the fish and watches them so intently.  I was taking a ton of pictures and didn't realize I had caught this sweet Daddy/daughter moment until I downloaded the pics to the computer.  My heart melted!!

1/14/12  Scoot has been protesting our car rides lately because the low winter sun is in her eyes almost all the time.  Today was the first time that I put her sunglasses on and she actually kept them on for more than 2.6 seconds.

1/15/12  Aunt Catharine was home for the weekend and was more than happy to sneak in some snuggle time at dinner on Sunday night. 

32 weeks with Baby Roo (I print these weekly shots small and put them in the 8th journal card space.)

32 Weeks

At 32 weeks we are down to a single digit weekly countdown until the arrival of Baby Roo.

This seems quite impossible to me! Not only because I feel like these last 8 months have FLOWN by, but because I feel completely unprepared to bring a baby home!  More unprepared even than I felt at this point before we brought home our first baby!  How can it be that we're 19 months in to raising Scoot and I feel unprepared for a newborn?

Why WOULD I feel prepared?  We haven't actually had to prepare anything!  We have all the big accessories that come along with babies - carseat, stroller, swing, bouncy seat, pack & play, and baby carrier.  We also have an over abundance of baby toys stored away from Scoot's infant days. 

We did not decorate a nursery since Scoot and Roo will share a room.  The room already has a gender neutral color scheme and isn't too baby-ish or big-kid-ish.  (yep, I just made up that word!)

We haven't bought a single outfit, blanket, or bottle.  We have TONS of blankets, bottles stored from the 7 short months ago that Scoot stopped using them, and totes full of baby girl clothes.  Of course IF Baby Roo ends up being a boy we'll need a whole new wardrobe, but we'll cross that bridge if we get to it. 

My shopping list of items to get in the next 2 months is short... super short.
*Going home outfit (maybe 2 - 1 boy & 1 girl)
*Rear facing carseat mirror for the car (Scoot is still rear facing and using hers.)
*Small can of formula (I plan on breastfeeding, but just in case)
*Crib (Ok, that sounds like a big one but it's not going to be an issue for several weeks/months after the baby is born.)
*Pacifiers

That's it!  And really none of those are NECESSITIES!  We've got clothes the baby can wear home from the hospital. It's only a 10 minute ride so not being able to see the baby in the mirror for 10 minutes won't hurt anybody.  The hospital usually sends home a sample bottle of formula if things get tough with breastfeeding and the grocery store is only blocks away - the baby won't starve!  The baby is going to stay in the pack&play in our room until we get to know each other better and see how Scoot reacts to the middle of the night wakings.  We don't need a crib until we're ready to move the baby into Scoot's room - that could be 4-6 months later.  And finally, we still have a few of Scoot's pacifiers that we could use in a pinch.  I just WANT new ones BUT who's to say the baby will even take a pacifier?

We have done two - only 2 - things to get ready for Baby Roo.  1 ~We bought a case of size 1 diapers. 2~ I crocheted a blanket & hat especially for the baby and I am in the process of making a quilt especially for Baby Roo. 

I feel like Baby Roo is getting the short end of the stick already being the second child and coming so close in age to Scoot.  I know that we won't love the baby any less just because we didn't go through 9 months of intense preparations.  Heck, the baby won't even know how much time we spent getting ready.  Some of my "mommy guilt" over short changing the baby is that I'm afraid other people are going to do the same thing.  I just want to make sure that Baby Roo knows how much we LOVE him/her and are SOOOOOO glad (s)he is joining our family!!

Renewed Commitment

A new year has started and I am ready to renew my commitment to Project Life. I really believe in doing this project for the memories and record it will leave for my family. But somewhere around July/August I usually fall off the bandwagon a bit. I love the new year and having a new kit to work with and the sense that I'm not behind yet!! My 2011 book is still missing about 6 months of journaling cards but I did put in my final order of pictures. There are plenty of gaps, but that's just how life goes so I'm not going to stress about it toooooo much.

I've found that the layout I like best is to keep the weekend together in one spread.  So my weeks run Monday - Sunday.  That means this year my book will actually start on January 2nd.  I like the picture a day format, but realistically that doesn't always happen so this year I'm going to try to give myself a little leeway to use weekly layouts for those times that I just don't remember to get my camera out every day.  My theory this year is to keep it open to find what will work best for me and get the most of our story recorded. 

Monday 1/2/12

Scoot eats cereal with milk all by herself for the first time!  The things she can do these days (with ease) amazes me daily!

Tuesday 1/3/12
Aaron went back to work after being off for 11 days.  Scoot has missed him terribly today and is waiting by the window for him to come home.

Wednesday 1/4/12
Giving a squeeze to the baby she got for Christmas.  Scoot is a very loving little momma.  She hugs, kisses, pats, feeds, and takes her baby on walks.  I can't wait to see how she is as a big sister!

Thursday 1/5/12
We have a little monkey on our hands!  Scoot climbed up on a footstool and then walked down the windowsill to get on top of the kitchen!  I think it's time to start a gymnastics class!

Friday 1/6/12
I finished the quilt top that I've been working on for Baby Roo.  Next up is to baste, quilt, and bind it.  I've got 8 weeks to get it done! I can do it!

Saturday 1/7/12
We held off for awhile due to family history of allergies, but Scoot got her first taste of peanut butter today.  She liked the jelly side of the sandwich a lot better.

Sunday 1/8/12
31 weeks pregnant with Baby Roo.  Yes it's January, but I'm ALWAYS hot!!

We unofficially declared it "Take Your Daughter To Work" day when Scoot wanted nothing more than to cuddle with Aaron, but he was on-call for work and had an emergency come in.