A Blogger Sabbatical

In case you didn't notice, I was away from this blog for quite a good long time. I'm sorry for that - it was unplanned.

In September 2014, baby G and I moved from California to Virginia, leaving my husband in CA to finish his work before joining us in October. We were moving in with my family, and G and I stayed in a small room while some renovations were being done to our little basement apartment. At the same time, I was also planning a bachelorette party and bridal shower for my best friend's wedding which was to be held a month after we arrived in Virginia.

We expected the renovations to be completed before October, and so had all of our belongings and furniture delivered to the house the day after my friend's wedding. But the renovations got pushed back... and pushed back... and pushed back... and they were finally completed shortly before Thanksgiving. So then we had to get to unpacking, and organizing, and cleaning, etc.

Of course, then the Holiday season began and we were incredibly busy with different families to visit, we took a short trip to Williamsburg, and just plain relaxing.

Then, I took the GRE right before the end of the year (so prior to that spent a lot of my free time studying), and my husband began his classes at the start of January. So I feel like I finally have a bit of time to devote to this blog again!

There's a lot of things coming up that I'm looking forward to - the big one being that our little boy is turning 1 year old in March! So we have a party to plan (so excited!) and him turning one also means a few other things are in store. Like his first dentist appointment, first haircut, and of course (we hope), his first words and other developmental milestones.

So there should be plenty for me to write about. I will begin applications to grad schools soon (I've already partially begun), so that take me away again, but hopefully not for long. (Of course, if I do get in to a program, who knows how long I'll have to devote to this what with studies and all).

But again, apologies for the unexplained absence!

An Open Apology/Thank You Letter to Target

That awkward moment when your baby embarrasses you at Target...

Dear Target,

I am a big fan and frequent your store on numerous occasions. Sometimes I have a shopping list in hand, but usually I come in to browse your beautifully wide aisles, grab a drink from Starbucks, and awe over the adorable baby clothes. Or stock up on e.l.f. makeup.

On my most recent visit, my not-quite-6-month-old baby boy was with me and helped me select a sippy cup, among other infant products. He began getting cranky, signaling the end of our outing and letting me know that nap time was near, so I headed to the checkout line.  I met another young mother in line and chatted with her while fumbling around with my wallet, baby on my hip, searching for a coupon and my debit card.

My boy gave a small cough right before I swiped my card and as I turned to check on him, he spat up on me. This is nothing new, it was no huge amount, but I was mildly dismayed since I had my hands full and a burp cloth was not within arms reach. But then, he continued to spew, and in quantities I had not seen come out of his mouth before. It was disgusting, to say the least, and there was a pool of white and pale-green (from his breakfast of avocado) baby vomit between my arm and stomach as well as all over him, my shoes, and the floor. I was shocked, never having witnessed anything like it, and frozen on the spot momentarily.

I'd like to give my apologies to the store (Aliso Viejo) for the mess and for my behavior, or lack thereof. You see, because I was holding my baby, I couldn't exactly bend down to clean the mess up myself. Also because the way I had him in my arms created a pool of liquid, as I indicated before, and I knew that were I to try to get a burp cloth or a wipe, all of that lovely baby puke would then go onto the floor. I'd like to apologize to the customers in line behind me as well - my baby and I held up the flow of traffic through the checkout process a bit.

So, thank you, Target employees, whose names I am heartily sorry for not knowing, for helping me in that situation. They acted without a moment's notice; the cashier grabbed another employee's attention and quickly handed me paper towels to mop myself and my baby up with while they cleaned the bit that had gotten onto the floor. I worked in customer service for many years before my son was born, and I know that cleaning up baby puke is not a standard or very enticing part of the job description. Thank you for not making a big scene out of it either; no one wants an embarrassing moment like that broadcast throughout the entire store. Having any witnesses at all was humiliating enough. Though the situation was entirely out of my control, and I myself am not the one that hurled at the checkout line, it is still mortifying to be covered in puke, in public. I sincerely do appreciate the speed with which your employees acted and the manner in which they handled the situation.

In closure, Target, I'm sorry my baby puked at the checkout line, but thank you for cleaning it up.

"Eep! Sorry Target!"

Why I No Longer Blog Every Day

Over two months ago, I had lofty intentions of writing a new post every day except Sunday. And for a while I was able to keep up with it - I even came pretty close while I was on vacation for two weeks! But once we came home from vacation, my baby boy turned 4-months-old and it started getting harder and harder to find enough time every day to write. Sure, I could knock out a couple paragraphs in a matter of minutes, but I try to have my posts be well-written and full of photos and sometimes good resources, references, and links. Plus I like to have a nice title image as well. And all of that often takes much longer.

This post is kind of serving as a brief apology letter to all of my readers for not being "on the ball." But I'm assuming that the majority of my readers are also moms, and hope that you all understand how precious time is when you have a baby (or kids in general).

When my baby boy was only a couple months old, he slept a lot. He took numerous naps throughout the day - often an hour or two hours long - giving me plenty of time to write as well as do other things around the house. Now that he's nearly 6-months-old though... he is attracted to bright screens like a moth to a flame - he wants to touch them and stare at them, and I don't want him watching any screens for any length of time. The American Pediatric Association says kids shouldn't watch any TV before the age of 2 years, and I'm sure any screen time, whether it's a cell phone, ipad, laptop, or tv - is bad. I can no longer have him lay peacefully on one arm while I type. Now he's squirmy and wants to see what the bright light is. I could try to blog while he's entertained by his toys/jumperoo/activity gym/etc, but I would rather spend time with him. So working while he's awake is a no-go.

Now that he's nearly half a year old, he only naps about three times a day, and usually only for 30-45 minutes. Perhaps that could be a sufficient amount of time to write a quick post... but sometimes creating the title image alone takes 20-30 minutes (I'm a perfectionist). Also, sometimes I have other things I need to do - like shower, eat, walk the dogs, vacuum, laundry, or pack (we're moving in just a couple of weeks). If I spend the baby's entire nap writing... what happens is he wakes up and I realize I'm still not wearing any pants and my lemon meringue flavored Greek yogurt is sitting next to me, untouched.

While I do have some time to do things after Baby G goes to bed for the night (he is usually asleep by 8:30 at the latest), I try and use that time to relax with my husband before we go to bed. We've said in the past that we won't be on the computer much after he gets home from work, and though we've been slipping a bit lately, I'd like to start enforcing our "no computers/ipads rule" again.

I'm actually quite upset that I do not have as much time to devote to this as I would like. I am quite upset I don't have as much time to devote to a lot of things - like read, sew, cook, and watch Doctor Who. But making sacrifices comes with the territory [of being a parent]. And if it comes down to writing about nipple blisters or playing with my son and watching him laugh... you tell me which one you would pick. #sorryimnotsorry ;)