Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Finding MY Balance

I've been having a hard time trying to figure out how to balance everything I've got going on and still find time to blog about pepito.  Nevermind study, clean the house, make sure our bank account is downloaded, sew for money, sew for friends, sew for self, sew for pepito, feed everyone, grocery shop, maintain friendships, etc.  I really have no idea how anyone does all this - I am certainly failing.   I am unbelievably overwhelmed by all that I have to do and feel guilty when I consider taking time to sit.


But this weekend, Sam took 2 hours for some him time and instead of wandering around the house accomplishing things or getting out my anatomy book to read the 200+ I have neglected, I sat down and played with my kid.  I completely forgot about the crazy to do list and had fun.  It was really awesome.  And I decided right then that a B in anatomy, a dirty kitchen floor, and fabric piling up was worth it.  William was so happy to have my undivided attention and we just giggled, clapped, and had a big time.  THIS is what life is about.


Now, of course, STAYING in this mindset is easier said then done.  But I've made a pledge to myself that I will play with him atleast ONCE everyday for atleast an hour and think of nothing else.  (this doesn't include all the time spent feeding him, keeping him entertained and LAYING down while I change his diaper, rocking him to sleep for naptime, etc.)  It probably doesn't sound like a lot - but it's how I plan to keep my life all together.  I mean, I can't make a C in anatomy - I'm not THAT student!! ;)


I definitely find myself wondering how in the world I hit the black hole when he was a newborn when I didn't have school to worry about.  Because I feel it creeping back every couple days and I'm just trying to keep my head above water.  Funny how things change - but being a new mom brought it's own challenges and I shouldn't forget that and discredit my black hole.  anyhow...


William is becoming such a cute kid.  So fun to be around.  Sam and I were sitting on the screen porch the other day because the weather was nice and it's hard to find time to have an actual conversation - William was crawling all around the living room happy as can be.  He made his way over to the french doors and was razzing and giggling at us.  Then, out of nowhere, he puts his mouth on the glass and razzes - mouth wide open - it was HILARIOUS!  I couldn't stop laughing, so he did it more!  It's so cute when he "figures" things out.


His crawling is getting out of control.  He's still on his belly and refuses to utilize his left leg - but that kid can MOVE.  If I leave the room - I never know where he's going to be when I come back.  It's so fun to watch him get around and he's obviously tickled with himself.  And he chases Burnie - adorable!!  Poor Burnie is in for it when pepito is truly mobile...she'll never get any rest!


A friend of mine is trying Baby Led Weaning, which I had never heard of before, but basically, you give the baby what you're eating and let them make a mess and try it on for size.  I think it might be easier if you already have children, because then there's a set dinner time that kind of thing.  We don't eat dinner until 8:00 usually and by then pepito is already in bed.  Plus - I'm not sure he would really want to eat soft tacos and I definitely don't want to clean up that mess...point being - we aren't exactly eating balanced meals.  But I did buy some bananas, apples, cucumbers, and broccoli yesterday at the store to start to give him at lunch.

The bananas were a disaster - first he was choking on the bigger sticks, so I cut them up into tiny pieces and I think he sat on more banana then anything.  So, later that afternoon, I cut up an apple (no skins) and he seemed to really enjoy that.  He gnawed and gnawed on them and I think some it may have actually ended up in his stomach.  We'll see.  I'm not into a big mess - Sam is against it mostly because then it'll just be ONE more thing I have to clean to up and deal with - but doesn't William need to learn how to eat with his hands?  We're trying it out - even if it's only at lunch and not necessarily what we're eating.  To each their own I guess.

Oh - but I think he might be ready for finger foods, as evidenced by the following pictures.  I turned for 2 seconds to grab a baby spoon and this is what happened.



Loves.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Real Quick...

High points of the week:  

William perfected clapping yesterday.  He now does it with both palms open and makes a soft little noise.  He's absolutely tickled with himself and now claps for everything.  

He also waves spontaneously but sometimes at the appropriate time.  He also thinks that's awesome.  It's so cute because the wave is also accompanied with a HUGE smile!!

The marathon nap has disappeared much to my chagrin.  But he plays happily by himself for longer periods - so I guess I'll take the trade.

He's getting so much hair!!  Sam noticed a little flip in the back this morning - I can't believe he has enough on his head for that to happen!  Yay!!


Loves!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Toodle Toddles

For some crazy reason - the blog is refusing to upload any picture but this one - oh well.  This is a cute one.


William has a newfound love for walking.  He used to just stand there when you hold both his hands and now he is off and running.  So cute but killer on the back.  He can also pull himself up using his own strength as long as we are there to stabilize him.  And he's so tickled with himself.  He'll just stand holding onto the coffee table staring at his feet.  I think he'll be walking "soon" -  though I've been thinking his teeth would come in "soon" for 4.5 months now - so we'll see.

He has lots of things to say and it's completely adorable to hear him babble on.  Just this week he has added the D to his vocabulary.  So we're just waiting on him to start associating us with the correct sounds - he says mama & dade but has not a clue what he's talking about.  Obviously - he's only 8 months old!  Anyhow.

He is still military crawling but he has to be pretty motivated to go after something.  He doesn't just move around unless he's got a reason.  The other morning - I was getting ready or making breakfast or something - came back in the living room and didn't see him.  He had crawled himself into the corner behind the chairs where his wooden ball maze thing was - he was chewing on the table leg.  Silly bug.

He LOVES when his Daddy comes home after work and no one can make him laugh like his Daddy.  "I gotta talk to you  Burnie" in a very high pitched voice gets him every time and he just giggles - love it!

This week marked another round of manic teething.  yay....not.  Poor guy hurts so bad and just cries if I put him down.  He wants to be held constantly, not that I blame him, but mommy has things to get done.  A couple times, while trying to get stuff out of his mouth, I touched the outside of his jaw/gums and he just squealed in pain.  Even one of the Sam's Club employees could see how swollen his gums were.  No good.  There better teeth at the end of this.  Grandaddy is already talking about having to get him some dentures...haha!  Atleast they'd be straight pretty & white then....

He loves to be outside (but only if being held).  A couple of  times during the day when nothing inside would make him happy, we just sat on the stoop and he watched the cars go by and stared at the trees.  Perfectly content.  Such a sweet boy.

On a completely different note - please think good thoughts about my summer school schedule - if the stars don't align PERFECTLY - I will not be starting nursing school in the fall and that's just bad news bears.  Might as well eat worms.  haha  But seriously - PERFECTLY or not at all... ugh.

Maybe I can figure out why the blog hates me today and get the other cutesy pics up - weird.

Loves!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

I want to play the game!




So Serenity Now is hosting a Dishing It party - and for some reason - I REALLY want to play!  So here goes:

How long have you been blogging?

I've been blogging since 2009, and in the past year and change, I started two additional blogs (Rumer & Company & Nutmeg's) - so now I have three to keep up with - I'm not sure how I thought I would have the time!!

Why did you start blogging?

I was laid off from my interior design job, pregnant, and I guess needed "someone" to talk to.  Plus, I wanted to start a diary for the baby about the pregnancy, etc. but have never been able to stick to writing in it - regardless of how pretty the cover was!

And then after the baby was born, realized that I didn't like that EVERYTHING in my life ended up on the baby blog.  (I want my husband to order the book of the blog for Mother's Day and didn't want ALL of the interior design stuff clogging up the beautiful pictures of my baby)  So I broke off - and created the Rumer and Company blog.  Easy cheesey.  Then - when sewing began to take over my life and I was "talked" into selling the cutesy outfits - I made another blog devoted just to that.

Tell me about your blog's title.  Why did you choose it?

The original title was Rumers All Around - somehow trying to play on our last name and that we were adding Rumers...  Changed it a couple months ago to One Little Rumer - just seemed more appropriate since this blog is all about William.  I really wanted Rumer Has It - but alas - it was unavailable.  Guess there are more Rumers running around then I thought!

My interior design related blog is called Rumer and Company.  I briefly toyed with opening my open design business and that was what we called it.  We thought it was ironic because the "company" part was my ever expanding belly!

The last blog is Nutmeg's.  My favorite uncle Jimmy called me Nutmeg when I was little before he died - so it has a very special place.

What do you blog about?

I try to keep all three blogs very separate - which is why I made them in the first place!  One Little Rumer - is all about our family and especially pepito.  Rumer and Company - Interior Design, Home Improvements, and crafty projects.  Nutmeg's - an outlet for sewing cute clothes for little ones.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

My favorite thing about blogging is definitely just feeling like I'm connected to the outside world in some small way.  Especially not doing interior design anymore (as a job) - I felt like there was a huge hole where that used to be.  Talking to clients and making things pretty, etc.  It's been nice to get my creative thoughts out of my head and hopefully into someone else's!

If you had to choose one famous person to become your blog's next devoted reader, who would you pick?

Hmmm...  I have absolutely no idea!  I would be flattered if any of the awesome blog writers themselves decided to read my blog - which I suppose - would be any of you reading right now!!  Enjoy!!

What's the funniest comment you've ever received on a blog post?

I don't think I've ever received a funny comment - shoot - guess I'm missing out on that one.  Note to self - be funnier. ;)

Thanks for indulging me!  Back to the regularly scheduled pepito posting soon I promise!

Loves!

Monday, April 12, 2010

A Weekend in Cleveland

Friday night we headed up to Cleveland to celebrate my stepmom's birthday - granted we were a little late, her birthday is March 30, but I guess it was the soonest all of us kids could get our schedules aligned.  And poo, my littlest sister got allergies and a fever so she couldn't make it, but we had a good time.  The celebration wasn't until Sunday so we had fun with my parents all day on Saturday.


Daddy makes THE best breakfast ever!!  Saturday we had biscuits and BACON!!  They always make a lot of bacon when we come up and all of us fight over how many pieces we are going to get.  It's kinda funny really but I don't know how to describe it so y'all with laugh too...  (I usually win...)  William wanted in on the action and Daddy was happy to oblige.


After William woke up, we went up to Mema's house in Gainesville.  Apparently most of her beautiful things are going to be sold in an estate sale and it was heartbreaking to see it all laid out and know that strangers were going to walk away with the things she held dear.  But I learned that she had an obsession with baskets just like me, which was neat.  Her husband actually told she was not allowed to bring another single basket into the house - luckily my hubs hasn't gone that far yet!!


I think naps followed that afternoon - me on the most comfy sofa EVER and William fell asleep in the bike trailer Daddy got him.  It is seriously the coolest piece of baby equipment I've ever seen!!  He could flip in that thing twelve times and I don't think he would come out with a bruise or a scratch.  The straps are better than anything I've seen in a carseat!!  Can't wait to go biking at Callaway later this 'spring' with Daddy!!  Even better - I'm not going to have to tow it!! (it's REALLY substantial!)


Sunday, William had his first bath in a sink and I think he enjoyed it.  I forgot all of his toys - but he was happy to steal the washcloth from me as a substitute.


Then, all his aunts and uncles came over.  We didn't get many pictures because Daddy also had his camera out but a good time was had by all.  William ate strawberry-apple puffs for the first time while we ate beef tenderloin and then Daddy had him giggling up a storm at some balloons.  I can't wait to see/get the video of it - it was hilarious and adorable! So glad we caught it on film!!


It was a super nice, relaxing weekend.  Always fun spending time with Daddy & Sara and it's even better when all my brothers and sisters (well almost all) are there too.  We're going to try and make a family dinner a quarterly occasion.  (Sara wanted every month - but we're the ones farthest away and wow - that just wouldn't work...)  Though, with holidays and birthdays, I'm sure we'll end up getting together more often - especially in the summer & fall when most of our birthdays & holidays occur.


Loves!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

William By Numbers




Sweet William is 8 months old!! 2/3 of the way through his first year - kinda crazy right?!

This month's highlights:
*Has totally rejected homemade baby food - he literally gagged on the sweet potatoes which were his favorite
*Now eats green veggies, including peas.  Really he eats it all and loves it.  Corn, mango, peaches, green beans, etc etc etc...
*Will gnaw on anything
*Prefers to play with his bottle caps instead of his hundreds of toys; also prefers paper, boxes, and tin foil to toys
*Eats magazines, especially Southern Living before Mommy gets to read it
*Will now walk if you hold his hands instead of just standing
*Is a master at the "tummy pivot" - he spins a complete 360', he also does this sitting on his bum
*Is very handsy when being fed - he thinks he does a much better job with the spoon than his parents
*Slowly moved himself to two naps a day
*Moved his bedtime to 6:30-7:00 and is now sleeping through the night again more frequently
*Pretty sure he's getting taller and not wider - it's becoming impossible to find pants that fit his waist
*Wants to crawl but hasn't quite figured it out yet (btw - this changed right after the month cutoff...)
*Loves to talk walks in the stroller but no longer falls asleep that way
*Really wishes that Burnie liked him
*Tears through the house in his walker; door trim, coffee table, and pretty thing beware!
*Can say BaBa & MaMa - though I'm pretty sure he hasn't associated those words with anything in particular...
*Lights up when Daddy comes home
*Has replaced smiling with the ever popular razz - Sam calls it his "purr" - you know he's happy
*Still refuses to hold his own bottle but loves his sippy cups with water
*We made the executive decision to stop the baby Zantac and rice in the bottle - he's fine without it
*Is still a gum baby - no teeth yet
*His hair is finally starting to come in - couple long RED strands on top
*Thinks it is hilarious when Daddy/Mommy "barks"
*Is rediscovering how to "cry it out" - apparently I've been spoiling him and he has forgotten how
*Can sit very happily in the middle of the floor with no toys - he pretends to be an airplane and pumps his arms up and down excitedly
*Is start to do a "wave" motion, sometimes even at the appropriate time
*When he sees someone he wants (even if he doesn't know them) he literally jumps/throws himself towards them
*Walks around clucking (using his tongue from the roof of his mouth...y'know what I mean)
*Will only go to sleep with his green fluffy blanket

He is an absolute doll and the closer we get to fulltime daycare in the summer, the more I cherish staying home.  He is so fun and cute.  Makes us both laugh constantly.




Loves!

Monday, April 5, 2010

It was a lovely day


It could not have been a prettier day for Easter.  All sun and just warm enough.

Super William shirt in his Easter basket

We decided to go to early service with Sam's parents, so we would be able to make mac&cheese for lunch, get William down for a nap, and have a little down time before heading over to their house for the big family get together.  Nevermind that I had to finish my Easter dress, do William's Easter basket, feed William, give him a bath, get him dressed, take a shower myself and actually do my hair and makeup AND be ready to leave the house by 8:30.  Sadly, it didn't happen - we left at 8:45, when church was starting, and walked in ten minutes late after getting William squared away in the nursery.  I don't think I've ever been late to church, atleast not in the recent past, and yuck.  Having to walk in and everyone staring - not good.  Oh well.  Buddy's sermon was awesome - very nice service all around.

my most favorite picture of all of us to date

Afterwards we took a couple family pictures in the little garden off the side of the church.  I think they turned out perfect.  I'm loving this new "family" thing.  ;)

"walking"


William wanted to take a marathon two nap but we had to wake him after 1.5 hours to go to B&B's.  He didn't seem too upset about it thank goodness.  Probably helped that as soon as we got there he got bananas & strawberries for lunch and could run around their house in the walker.  Plus, he was the center of attention which he loves! ha!

with Daddy and the azaleas at our house


Easter dinner was yummy - even though I accidentally used sweetened condensed milk instead of evaporated for the mac & cheese, I'm not sure anyone REALLY noticed besides me...but I'll never make that mistake again!  We sat William at the table with us and he was getting bored - so Sam gave him a green bean - brilliant!!!  He gnawed on it happily until it was mush and then we gave him another and then some asparagus...rinse and repeat!  He was so happy just having something to hold onto and chew - hilarious!  Cute kid.
playing outside, he never fully grasped that he couldn't get the walker on the grass

eating vegetables!!!

It was naptime by the end of dinner - so we came home and laid low.  Sam rented The Blind Side and we ate pizza for dinner.  Awesome movie by the way - should be required watching for all humans.

outside at B&B's
That's pretty much - be on the lookout for William by Numbers soon!

Loves.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

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