My #100HappyDays Finale!

I couldn't close out the 100 Happy Days Project without an update, so here it is. After 100 crazy, wonderful, happy days, I am finally finished. My social media obligation is over! ...And I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about it. There were nights I had to scramble to find a picture - Shoot! My Hundred Happy Days! My cute kid is already asleep! What will I take a picture of? And a few times I had to find something small to be happy about when I didn't feel particularly happy.

Now that it's over I have the constant urge to snap a picture of a special moment, big or small. I'm sure my friends, family and colleagues appreciate not having a camera shoved in their faces every time I recognize a "moment." But even my husband - who inspired me to put down the smart phone in exchange for family time - suggested that I can always take on the challenge again, whenever I want.

I don't have to take pictures anymore - I'm just more attuned to capturing those moments, because human memory (especially Working Mommy Memory) is fleeting.

Monday

I bought these Sesame Street slippers because I thought my son would like them (and he does: he points to them and tries to say "Toes!"). Who knew they would be the most comfortable thing to wear around the house and even to bed? I love comfort!

Tuesday

It isn't every day I get to come home to this! (In our current, "We don't hit people/ourselves/random animals" phase, hugs are very appreciated.)

Wednesday

Grammy and Pops doting on Johnny even while he's asleep!

Busy day! Registered Johnny for child care, worked until 8pm, and Matt's parents flew into town for his graduation ceremony. They live in Indiana and haven't seen their newest grandson since he was two weeks old. It was quite a moment.

Thursday

Did anyone else know that one year-olds don't pose well for pictures? Here is one attempt to capture the three of us in our matching shirts from Grammy and Pops.

Friday

Graduation day! After lots of hard work and what felt like a decade (!) the whole family watched Matt's graduation ceremony.

Saturday

Our families got together to celebrate the milestone. We could never have done it without their support!

Sunday

Pops bought Johnny a new kite after ours got stuck in a tree.

Last day. After a whirlwind visit filled with activities and fun, the 100 happy days ended like this. A kite in the sky on a windy day. I feel calm, grateful, and yes - happy. #100happydays


It's never too late to join the challenge! Sign up here. Just remember...

Source

P.S. - Learn how I overcame my smart phone addiction.

Weekend Roundup: This Week's Happy Days

Here's my latest 100 Happy Days in review!

Sunday
We finally bought our little guy his OWN toothbrush - so he can stop pretending to use mine (and, occasionally, carefully placing my husband's on the dirtiest section of the bathroom floor).

Johnny clearly doesn't think I'm using enough toothpaste.

Monday
This is what happens when my husband is in charge of filling out childcare paperwork.

 

Other gems include:

Q: What would you most like your child to get out of this experience?

A: Care.
Q: What would you like us to know about your child?
A: He's a cool little dude.

Tuesday
Said husband had his last official day of school, ending with a 4.0 GPA and a job he already started!

Wednesday
What does no more night school for him mean for me? Among other things, delicious grilled dinners together again after a long nine months!

Thursday
What does it mean for our family? All three of us TOGETHER after work! No more evenings spent missing Dad!

Friday
I've only ever received performance awards at my job, but this one meant more to me than all of them combined.

Saturday
Whenever our dog comes around, Johnny imitates his panting ("huh, huh, huh"). Now, when he turns to the animals page in his flap-book, he pants at the dog picture. It's amazing to watch him put things together in his growing little mind!

Bonus: He spent the day with his dad at the pool - hence the chlorine-enhanced hairstyle and shirtless attire.

Sunday
Finally got some cleaning and organizing done around the house. It's amazing how difficult this becomes when your 1 year-old would love to help by taking everything out and leaving it scattered around the floor for you to trip over.

Want to feel happier? It's never too late to join the challenge! If you don't believe it, check out my #100happydays and prove that if this busy working mom with a dog, a cat, a husband and a 1 year-old can do it, you can too!*


*Seriously, though, why did we get a puppy when I was 8 months pregnant? Feel free to question my logic there...

Weekend Roundup: This Week's Happy Days

If you haven't already joined the 100 Happy Days Challenge, come get in on the fun! Here's my happy week in review.

Sunday
Johnny can't stop hugging and we are LOVING it!*

Hugging Daddy

Monday
I got an unexpected gift from my two favorite boys! My husband painted the mug and Johnny put his handprints on it.

It sits on my desk, and this makes me smile every day.

Tuesday
One of my coworkers showed me this cartoon and it now hangs in my cube. It's nice when people know and accept your extroversion - even to a fault.

Wednesday
My son was in the car almost all day, so seeing him run around and giggle afterward made me happy.

Thursday
Had a great, productive day at work. It motivated me and I felt inspired to change futures and lives!

Friday

With 7 school days of school left, my husband already has his first commercial electrical job starting Monday. (Hooray! and phew!)

Saturday
St. Patty's Day Celebration! Our family is very big and very Irish. My Aunt Petrea does corned beef and cabbage like nobody's business. Here is Johnny soaking up the love (and attention) with his cousin Kathleen!

Seriously, the 100 Happy Days Challenge makes you FEEL better. Get on board, and track my progress here!


*He wraps his arms around your neck and says "Ahwudgu," which (roughly translated) means I love you. How much happier can you get?!

2 More Toddler Toys We Love!

My First Crayola Mess-Free Fingerpaint & Paper

Sometimes it's hard to think of activities you can do with a 1 year-old, which is why My First Crayola Mess-Free Fingerpaint & Paper is a fun idea.

It's the type of thing you hope exists when you're a first time parent: finger paint that only shows up on special paper. If your toddler smears it all over himself or anything else, the worst that happens is some mild stickiness. It smells like Play-Dough so Johnny wasn't tempted to put it in his mouth. Buy it here.

At first the paint bottle was the most interesting part for my toddler, but eventually he got the hang of it.

Elmo's World First Flap-Book Library

My son loves interactive books. These flap-books are perfect because he gets to lift the flaps while we're reading.

Toddlers have short attention spans, and these books keep it to a few words a page. The themes are also great (balls, puppies, babies, food) because he can relate them to his every day life. Buy them here.

See more toddler toys!

Update: Trading Screen Time for a Healthier Family

I had every good intention when I decided to give up my smartphone during family time, and I'm counting on you guys to keep me honest. So I'll tell you: it's not as easy as I thought it would be.



Johnny getting an early start on the screen time addiction

I took the day off, and I never considered the amount of work-related correspondence I engage in when I'm not at the office. In the grocery store my husband pointed accusingly at my phone while I texted.

"What are you doing?" he asked, gesturing to the child in our shopping cart.

It also took a lot of restraint not to check Facebook and obsessively track my blog stats. I did my best, and we had a great day. But when my husband left for school in the evening, I knew what I had to do. I plugged my phone into the charger in the bedroom upstairs and went into the downstairs playroom with Johnny.*

The first toy he seized was his beloved soccer ball. Luckily, our playroom is big, so I decided to play catch with him. (Bear with me while I parent-brag - my 16 month-old not only throws balls directly to us, but he also dribbles the soccer ball with a dexterity he certainly didn't inherit from me.)

I discovered several things during this roughly 30 minute activity.

(1) When I used team-sport jargon like, "Johnny, I'm open! Throw it over here!" he was into it. It felt like we were playing a real game (without rules, of course).

(2) He got the hang of throwing the ball and waiting for me to throw it back, as opposed to chasing it.

(3) He really enjoys watching me run from one end of the room to the other. Consequently, if at any point I stood still, he nudged my leg with his hand to encourage me to dart across the room and throw him the ball.

(4) Apparently I haven't high-fived him enough in the past few months, because every time I tried he gently kissed my hand.**

(5) I am really out of shape. I broke a sweat within 5 minutes.

(6) Most importantly, my son and I laughed so hard we could hardly breathe (again, I'm out of shape).

Sorry I don't have any pictures or video, but as you know that was against the rules - and it would have broken our focus. We had a blast!

See the origins of this endeavor here.


P.S. In the spirit of honesty, I did jump on my phone once he was asleep (I'm weak!). So here are some links that made me laugh (or smile) this week.


*I never go into the downstairs playroom without my phone. What if he does something adorable and I don't catch it on video? What if he stands in the perfect light and I don't capture the image to share with all our friends and family? Or... what if his next word is "IPhone," as my aunt Peg suggested the last time I posted one too many videos?

**He high-fives his dad all the time. Definitely need to do this with him more, so he doesn't strictly associate Dad with playtime an Mom with hugs and kisses.

Trading Screen Time for a Healthier Family

Lent is upon us, and I thought long and hard about this before I decided to commit to it... I am giving up the use of my Smartphone while in the company of my husband and son.

There are too many times in recent memory when I half-listened to a story or missed an adorable moment because I was scanning through Facebook, Pinterest, Buzzfeed, Instagram or Twitter.

A few months ago my husband and I were sitting side by side, each of us scrolling through our IPhones, and I paused.

"Why don't we pay attention to each other?" I suggested.

He half-jokingly replied, "Why? We have IPhones."

Joking aside, it's true. Sometimes while we're having an interesting conversation one of us asks a question. Soon enough the other is googling the answer and by the time we find it, neither of us cares anymore and the conversation came to a halt.

Christmas Eve 2013:
My family, showing Christmas cheer by interacting with anyone but each other.

Last Saturday as we all sat in the playroom I was scanning through my phone. My husband and son were playing and I was vaguely aware of Johnny's squawks while I browsed away. Finally I turned and saw him gazing up at me, arms outstretched, begging for my attention. He wasn't grasping for my phone, which he sometimes does - he was grasping for me. It is that memory that made me decide:

The precious few hours a week I have with my boys are more important than anything a stranger or acquaintance has to say on social media.

If it's important, I will see it later.

Smartphones are great, and they have practical purposes. I'm not saying I won't search Google Maps if we're driving somewhere, or that I won't check the weather when we're discussing plans to fly a kite. If an emergency phone call comes through, I'll pick it up.

But for the next 40 days, my phone will stay away (maybe in my pocket - baby steps) while I think about the little things we sacrifice this season in order to honor the greatest sacrifice of all.


Are you giving up anything for Lent? Have you ever made a commitment to ignore social media for your family? Please share your thoughts and stories!


P.S. I've made commitments before, and it's important to know what you're getting yourself into (but so worth it if you do). Read about the #100happydays project here, and join in the fun!

10 Ideas for Decorating a Nursery

I didn't do much to decorate my son's nursery before he was born. I pretty much had a bassinet and a changing table when we brought him home from the hospital. While other expectant moms were buying up every charming little knickknack to put the finishing touches on their nurseries, I was eating all my meals in bed wearing maternity stretch pants while binge-watching Mad Men on Netflix.

I was uninspired. It wasn't that I didn't feel connected to the baby growing in my belly; I did. It was just that I didn't know him. I didn't know his personality (aside from the fact that he was very active in there, and still is now). Maybe some moms feel like they know their little ones in the prenatal stage, but I didn't.

Once he was born and became my sweetheart, my love, and my everything, I was unstoppable when it came to decorating. I spent most of his naps hammering, hanging, setting up and adjusting. Suddenly I knew him very well and I wanted everything he saw to make him happy.*

Here are some of the products and ideas I put together for our nursery. If you're feeling uninspired and want to get moving before your sweetheart arrives, you can peruse this (and Pinterest, of course) while eating all your meals in bed wearing your (amazing in the last trimester, BTW) maternity stretch pants.



1. Hooks for Hats and Jackets
I got this adorable hanging coat rack at Ross, which is a great store but can be pretty hit-or-miss. You may not find this exact product, but it's a good place to browse when you're out of ideas. The hooks are painted with colorful planes and cars, which fits loosely into the theme of my nursery: choo-choo trains.

2. I Love You Alphabet Picture
This is something I made myself, though I stole the idea from Pinterest. I put the alphabet into a Microsoft Word document, and with some relatively painless formatting I lined up the letters I, O and U. I changed the color of those letters to highlight them, and I used clip art to change the O into a heart. Print, frame, and you're done!

3. Train Wall Decals
My mom picked these up at Target. Caveat: they are kind of a pain to put up. I chose to place them high, near the ceiling, so I had the leverage issue working against me. They also don't automatically and flawlessly adhere to the wall, so it takes some patience. I found what works best is dampening the wall with a wet washcloth before you put the decal on it.

4. My First Year Frame
This was a shower gift, but you can find them almost anywhere. I put it up while most of the slots were still empty, and it helped motivate us to take his picture every month for the first year.

5. Train Set
My mother-in-law made and painted this for us. My nursery would not be what it is without tremendous help from both grandmothers, by the way.

6. Framed First Moments Photo
My husband snapped a picture of me holding our newborn son seconds after they handed him to me. It's one of my favorite pictures because it perfectly captures the moment (my tears; holding him gingerly; his tiny screaming face). Of course, I don't necessarily want to display my appearance after 36 hours of labor to every houseguest. So my aunt Bonnie, a photography whiz, edited the picture to smooth my tangled hair and de-red my face a little bit.



7. US Map
I found a neat kit at Staples that includes a US and world map (I have one in the nursery and one in the playroom) and stickers that indicate places you've been, places you want to go, and places where friends and family live. I think this will be more fun as Johnny gets older, but he already likes to gaze and point at it.

The sports paraphernalia came courtesy, again, of my mother-in-law (they live near Chicago, so my son is a legacy White Sox fan).

8. Man Chair
My Dad bought us this adorable chair and footstool at Babies R Us. A father to two girls, he declared, "This is a man's chair." So he was peeved at my sister's reaction: "Maybe we can embroider the baby's name on it!"
We sat Johnny in this chair every month for a photo op during his first year. It represented scale as he grew, and was pretty cute to boot.



9. Train blanket
A great solution to an empty wall is to hang a quilt on it, rather than stashing the quilt in a drawer (babies don't use anything but swaddling blankets for a long time, anyway). My aunt Bonnie made this quilt and it was too beautiful not to display. Below it is the pack'n'play so many people swear by. I put my son to sleep in the bassinet part occasionally, but he mostly hated the contraption** once he could sit up.



10. Rocking Chair
I like to have heirlooms, especially anything handmade, around the house. My Bedstafar (translation: Grandfather - for those not of Danish descent) was an excellent woodworker. He built this rocking chair when I was a baby. It's not a "man's chair," and I actually had to put it away for awhile because of my child's current Let's Climb On Everything; Safety is for Suckers! phase. But I love that this chair was made his great-grandfather, and I like to think Bedstafar will see my baby rock away in it before he's too big.


Do you have decorating tips for a nursery? Please share!

*This is around the time my Pinterest addiction got a little bit out of control, only to be reprised when we bought our house.

**Note: Pack'n'plays are probably great for most infants, but my son hates being constrained. As previously mentioned, he is extremely active. Also, the name is deceiving because setting it up and packing it in are both pretty challenging.

Changing Diapers When You Have a Weak Stomach

My husband has a very weak stomach. Almost everything makes him gag, which means poopy diapers are a pretty big challenge for him.

Now before you think he's just a wuss, which I used to - or using a lame excuse to get out of diaper duty - let me clarify: He really has a weak stomach. When I have the stomach flu he lovingly hands me cold washcloths through the cracked bathroom door, because if he saw what was in the toilet he would be doubled over next to me. He has to hold his breath the whole time he changes the litter box. He once ate a bad burger from McDonald's and now if we're passing one and the aroma wafts into the car, he gags.

Once he actually threw up after his cousin farted. And we were outside.

So, back to the diaper thing. Obviously for practical purposes he can't avoid changing one until our son is potty-trained. However, once I put my foot down after a particularly nasty newborn baby-poop blowout and Matt started gagging so much I had to take over for fear of cleaning up vomit and poop. In order for him to change poopy diapers, he had to get creative - so he wears a respirator mask.

I'm not talking about one of those masks they want you to wear if you go to the Minute Clinic when you're contagious. I'm talking about an industrial-grade, chemical respirator. He has several because he used to go into copper mines for work, where they're required for safety. He wears it each and every time he has to contend with a poopy diaper. (It's okay to make fun of him; I do. Regardless, it works.) Sometimes he even lines the inside with a dryer sheet.

And - eventually - my son wasn't fazed by having Darth Vader change his diaper.

If you are someone with a very weak stomach and interested in this approach, you can actually purchase one of these here. Who knew?

Or you can try the trick my husband learned while watching Dirty Jobs: apparently you cannot gag while smiling. I guess it's like trying to sneeze with your eyes open; it just can't be done. Now, according to Matt it can't just be your average Hey, How Ya Doin'? smile - the one you flash while passing an acquaintance in the hallway. It has to be an exaggerated, borderline-ridiculous smile in order to work.

He wouldn't demonstrate for the camera, but you know - the type Tom Cruise is famous for:

http://www.cosmeticdentisttoronto.com/smile-styles/patterns/





As my husband put it, when he explained all of this to me... "Maybe that's why they call it a shit-eating grin."

Above our diaper changing station.

Admittedly, changing diapers can be pretty disgusting. Does anyone have any tips to make it easier? Let me know, and good luck!

Toddler Tuesday: Why Doesn't Everything Have a Drive-Thru?

Today I'm asking the question I think many parents want to know: Why isn't there drive-thru everything?

When you first have a child, everything is a balancing act. You have to time outings according to his feeding schedule; you have to set your alarm to wake you up as quietly as possible so as not to wake him up; you basically build your life around an unpredictable, naturally moody infant. (And it’s great, for the most part.)

So why aren’t there more drive-thrus? I’m serious. When you have a sleeping child in a car seat, why can’t you go to a drive-thru gas station? Grocery store? Walgreens?

My husband watches our son during the day, but as any parent knows, 5pm-bedtime is “the witching hour.” I have the lucky job of taking our son on a 45-minute drive home most nights of the week, during said witching hour. If he’s not screaming, it’s because he has a bottle in his mouth. If I have to take him out of the car and put him back in to run an errand on the way home, it’s World War III.

My husband asked me why I thought it was so hard. “I take him everywhere,” he told me. “He’s great in the car.” This is true, yes – during the daytime.

Today I embarked on my 45+ minute journey with Johnny with not enough gas. Simple enough: I’ll stop at the gas station.

There should be a drive-thru where this guy is handing me a bottle full of milk.*

The first pump wouldn't take my credit card, which means a trip inside. I looked at Johnny. He was psyched at the idea of getting out of the car seat, of course. We went inside. I paid the cashier while Johnny screamed that I wouldn't let him push all the buttons on the cashier’s keypad. Suddenly, the cashier frowned.

 

“It’s not letting me put gas on that pump, ma’am. Can you pull forward to the next pump?”
 

Well sure, yes, I can, but that means I have to strap him back in the car seat (which he resists like it’s torture) to pull up four feet. I did it.
 

“Great,” said the cashier. “That pump seems to be working. Go ahead.”
 

Great! I set Johnny down in the bed of Matt’s truck so he could roam around while I pumped gas with my eye on him.
 

But nope. Nope, it wasn’t working. We went back inside. Now there was a long line.
 

“Excuse me, Sir?” I said plaintively. “It doesn’t seem to be working.”

“Hmm,” he said. “Let me see.” After checking out several of the people in line (while Johnny screamed again because he wasn’t allowed to punch the buttons on the keypad) the cashier gave me the go-ahead.

We went back outside. I put Johnny into the bed of the truck, as a man passing by loudly told his wife, "See? She lets her kid ride in the bed!" No I don't, I wanted to shout, but I was busy keeping one eye on the gas pump and one on Johnny.

Putting a willful one year-old into a car seat (or high chair, or saucer) when he doesn't want to is a challenge: they buck and squirm and - of course - scream at the top of their lungs. To any observer it probably looked like I was abusing my child as I tried to contort his body into the constraints of the safety buckles.

In conclusion, I implore you, retailers of the world: It is 2014. For us parents, can you please build drive-thrus everywhere? Then my son would more often look like this:

Sincerely,
The Mom of a Willful One Year-Old


*Source: http://phil-quinn.com/tag/customer-service/

6 Toddler Toys We Just Love

From our house to yours, here are some of the toys that Johnny can't get enough of. All of them teach him something and I recommend them for any child (mine is 15 months). I hope your toddler enjoys them as much as ours does!

1. A Musical Table

This is something Johnny loved as soon as he was big enough to stand. It's actually called an "activity table," but my son just presses each button (skipping the educational numbers and colors) until the music comes on and dances! Be prepared to have all the songs memorized. Buy it here.

2. A Play House



Is your child as obsessed with light switches as mine?* We can't walk by one without him yelping because he wants to turn it on... and off... and on... So whenever he's adamant about the light switch thing, I tell him to go get his "house." He plays with the switch ad nauseam, and the other features are pretty fun for him too. Buy it here.

3. Stackable cups

When he hadn't quite reached the right developmental stage, all Johnny wanted to do was throw these. Now, it's amazing to watch him figure out how they fit together (or don't). He stacks them upside-down and rightside-up... and still occasionally throws them. He even tried to put one inside my water cup, which makes perfect, logical sense for a 1 year-old! Buy them here.

4. A Book Like This

My little one went through a phase in which he had zero interest in books. After months of being seemingly enthralled with Little Blue Truck**, he squirmed and slapped the pages shut whenever I tried to read to him. Our pediatrician suggested books he could relate to - ones with pictures that had something to do with his everyday life.

On a trip to Buy Buy Baby I showed him this "Words" book, and because the cat pictured looks exactly like our gray cat, he immediately leaned in and kissed the page. I bought the book - not just because once my child's slobber is on something I feel obligated to purchase it - and he loves to bring it over to me during playtime so I can read it with him.

Bonus: It has sliding windows so he can see the word "ball" and listen to me say it as he slides it over. Buy it here.

5. Stuffed Animals

Obviously, I know. But having a few of these around the playroom brings out a different side of Johnny. Maybe it's because we actually have a dog, but whenever he picks this guy up he transitions to a softer voice, strokes him and lays his head on him - almost like he's taking care of the dog. He never throws him like he does everything else. It's fun to see your little one playing parent to one of his toys.

6. Balls

Another "duh," but worth mentioning. My son loves throwing, kicking, and giving us his balls. Because he's had so much practice and exposure, he knows what we mean when we say, "Johnny, where's your soccer ball?" He will pick up the soccer ball instead of his football. Great for learning, and especially great if you have a very physical child.

If you have any great toys your child loves, please share them in the Comments section!


*Good to know we're not alone, isn't it? I choose to believe he is advanced, of course.

**Little Blue Truck is easily my son's favorite book of all time. It has it all: narrative, animal noises, different voices, and you can act out what's going on as your child gets older (swerve when the dump truck swerves, etc.) Buy it here.