If someone calls you mommy…someone needs your strength.

If someone calls you mommy…someone needs you guidance.

1. Getting back to your pre-pregnancy weight does not also mean your pre-pregnancy pants will fit. Things shift. If you’re lucky, they’ll shift back within 9 months or so.

2. At about 12 weeks postpartum, your hair may start falling out. Like, a lot.

3. The first few days home with your new baby you may get sad over the most random stuff. And I do mean random. R-A-N-D-O-M.

4. Just because you carried a baby for nine (long) months and then delivered that baby does not mean you know what to do with it when it arrives. Read lots and ask questions. All babies are different, so you never know whose advice will be what you need to hear. Four different people told me random tidbits that I needed to know. I didn’t realize I needed to know when they told me, so just soak it all in. When you need to remember, you will.

5. If you’re anything like me, your perspective on life will do a 180. You’ll see everything differently. I could go on and on about how being a mom has changed me. I won’t tonight because I’m too tired, but I could.

Are you a mom with something to add to my list? I’d love to hear what you learned after having your baby.

I’m sad.
I’m anxious.

Actually, I feel exactly like I did last time.

But this time, even though I’m going through the same emotions, something is different.

I’ve been around this block before.

Will there be tears? Of course.

Will we be fine? No.

We’ll be better than that.

Bring it on.

BigSIS and I had lunch together today while theBOY worked and lilBRO napped.

I’m really going to miss lunching with her when I return to work next week. Some of our best conversations happen at lunch.

Take today’s, for example.

I finished before her (as usual), and turned to check out our kitchen set-up.

“What you doing, Mom?” she asked.

“I’m thinking, honey.”

We usually forget that our 26-month old is 26 months old, so I continued.

“I”m trying to figure out how to make a dishwasher fit in here.”

The next question reminded me that she is, in fact, two years old.

“What’s a dishwasher?”

Then the conversation went something like this…

It’s the thing at your grandma’s house that washes the dishes. You know, you get to push the button to start it. Everyone else we know (except one other poor soul and friend of mine) has one. Yada. Yada. Yada.

I turned from her again.

“What you thinkin’ about now, Mom?”

(Yes, she recently started calling me “mom” instead of mommy. I’m not worried about it, though, because this comes after a stint of calling me “mama” for days on end.)

This time I didn’t turn back to answer.

“I’m still thinking about the dishwasher,” I replied. “And if we should get one.”

“We have a sink.”

We have a sink, she said.

Yes, we do, don’t we?

We have a sink.

She’s watched me wash dishes in our sink for months. She’s even helped me wash dishes in that sink. And? She loves it.

In that moment, her two-year-old mind pointed out what my 30 {something} year old mind often forgets.

We have a sink. And not just a sink.

We have a home, two cars, warm beds, enough food, puh-lenty of toys.

See, I get wrapped up in what we DON’T have. But bigSIS doesn’t know what we don’t have (yet). 

She doesn’t know there’s a whole world of stuff we don’t have.

Stuff we don’t need.

Today, I wished I didn’t know the stuff we don’t have. Because we obviously don’t need it. We’re doing just fine.

Yes, we have a sink.

And, for today, that’s enough.

What is it that you don’t have and, just maybe, don’t need today?

~theGIRL

I do not love mornings.

I am not a get-up-and-go kind of girl.

I like 8-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

And after that perfect night of sleep, I like to lay in bed awake for at least 15 minutes to mentally prepare for the cold floor, the bright light and the chaos of the day ahead.

I like lazy mornings.

Who’s with me? I need some back-up here. theBOY hops out of bed like he’s got an extra spring on his side. So annoying.

When I became a mom, I lost all control over when or how I would get out of bed.

When the baby cries, you get up and go.

That may have been my biggest challenge when bigSIS arrived.

I’m not kidding. Remember this?

With two years of motherhood under my belt, I think I’m pretty good at getting up in the morning.

Most days I’m not bitter about it. I greet my kids with a genuine smile. And I don’t feel sorry for myself anymore.

Maybe my memory of those glorious, lazy mornings is starting to fade – or maybe I’m just used to getting up when the alarm kids ring now.

Yes, I’m pretty good at get-up-and-go mornings.

Now a whole new challenge.

Just before the new year I stumbled upon Inspired to Action and the Hello Mornings Challenge.

The point? Getting up for your day/children instead of waking up to your children.

What does that look like? Getting up and ready for your day before the babies wake.

Quiet time? Check.

Exercise? Yep.

Showered and dressed? You know it.

What a difference it makes! Brilliant!

Now, a little note. I must be ready for my day before the kids wake when I go back to work in two short weeks, so this is just a jump-start for me. What I’m really learning now is to get up and spend time reading, studying and praying {because, as my pastor recently said, you can’t know God if you don’t know the Bible} and to get my exercise in first thing in the morning {because a worked out me is a happy me} in order to set myself on the right path for the day.

So, this past Monday I jumped in with both feet (which actually looks more like dragging both feet to the ground at 6 a.m.).

My goal? To remember how good this habit is when the alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. on February 1.

Say a prayer for me, will ya?

Oh, and if I learn any good early morning tips in the process, I’ll be sure to share them for my other non-morning people out there.

Now I must go to sleep. Morning comes really early these days.

~theGIRL

PS – If you follow me on Twitter and notice some funny hashtags, it’s probably me checking in with my Hello Mornings group!

I first saw this idea on Pinterest. Where else, right?

I knew it would make the perfect Christmas gift, so I went right to Michael’s and {using my 50% off coupon} bought Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint.

This was seriously so simple! First, wash and dry your wine glasses. Then, mask off the stems with tape. I used {hard to photograph} scotch tape because it was the first I found. I didn’t worry about taping off the whole stem because I figured I could control the spray paint pretty well.

I applied two thin coats of paint to the base of the wine glasses. According to the can, a coat of Krylon Chalkboard spray paint only takes 12 minutes to dry, so this project only took 30 minutes from start to finish {while the babies napped, of course}.

And the final product? So fun!

These would make great place settings, or you can let your guests get creative with chalk themselves!

So tell me, did you make anything fun to give as gifts this past Christmas?

I’m linking up at Tatertots & Jello this week!

I planned to share a fun project today, but it’s a cold winter day and I feel like writing about my family instead.

I hope you don’t mind.

I haven’t shared much about our new family member and how he’s changed things. So here goes.

First things first – he’s brought about the need for me to change how I refer to my kiddos at GGU. From here on, my firstborn will be known as “bigSIS” and my sweet baby boy as “lilBRO.” (And just in case you’re new here, I’m theGIRL and my cute husband is known as theBOY.)

Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s discuss the addition of lilBRO to our family. Here are the highlights.

• The transition from one to two children was easier than expected. Perhaps that’s because…
• I thought bigSIS was a “good baby” before lilBRO was born. Now I know the definition of a good baby.*
• I prayed for a baby who likes to sleep, and I got one who loves to sleep.
• Being the mom of two children doubles the daily joy. One makes me smile because of the way her two-year old brain works, and the other makes me smile because of the way he stares at me with his big brown eyes.
• Most of the time, the little guy looks like a mini version of theBOY. Other times, he reminds me of lilSIS.
• bigSIS has taken her new role on like a pro! She is either loving her baby brother or just carrying on as usual. No jealousy or regression issues so far – plus, she’s potty trained now!
• lilBRO had baby acne, cradle cap and a viral rash all develop within days of each other. Wow, that made for a rough-looking cutie pie. It made me realize how blessed we are to have two healthy babies.

Speaking of healthy kids, is anyone else super touched by all the commercials for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital this time of year?

Or is it just a result of my hormonal state?

The tagline tugs at my heartstrings every time I hear it.

“Give thanks for the healthy kids in your life, and give to those who are not.”

I’m giving thanks. I’m also wondering how to give to those “who are not.” (Besides financially. I get that. It just doesn’t seem like enough.)

So that’s that. I hope your first week of 2012 is going well.

Thanks for indulging me today.

~theGIRL

*A “good” baby is one who nurses until he’s finished and only takes 10 or 15 minutes to do so. He sleeps for four hours at a time at night the first night home and only increases his night sleep from there. He is content in his bouncy seat, his swing or laying on the floor. He doesn’t require endless rocking to fall asleep at night. He’s attentive and smiles during his alert period and yawns when he’s ready for a nap. Yes, I have myself a dream baby. I’m fully aware and grateful for it. So grateful. Oh, and I’m trying not to worry about him losing his angel wings…which I know will happen. He has to grow up, right?

I did, however, put together this chart to track my own goals. It’s always helpful to me to see my goals and to-do list in writing.

I thought you might like your own copy, so help yourself by downloading the free printable Goal Worksheet. It features my six areas of focus, but if you don’t need all six, just print it out on cardstock and cut out the ones you want to use.

Your goals should be something big to accomplish in a given time frame. The actions are the things you need to do to reach your goal. I only leave room for three actions so you can focus yourself. I tend to make a mile-long list of things to do if I’m not constrained.

Here’s a quick sample of how this works:

Goal: Run a 5k in June  

Action: Find a training program to follow 

Action: Run at least three days a week

Action: Sign up for a local 5K race

One last tip before I go snuggle my baby boy…take your actions and add them to whatever daily planner/calendar you use. It helps to schedule them into your life! If you don’t use a scheduler, post your goals some place you’ll see them regularly!

Happy 2012 to you! Make it a good one.

I’m linking up at Tatertots & Jello this week!

The way this works: I share some of my current favorites with you, then you tell me yours in the comments. Reading your comments is my favorite part, so please don’t skip it!

Enjoy!

Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Candlelight
I only have time to put on make-up once a day, so the longer it lasts the better. I discovered this little gem-of-a-product awhile back, and it’s well worth the $18 price tag. It’s an anti-crease eyeshadow primer that really works! Usually, my eyeshadow is ONLY in the crease of my eyelid by the end of the day, but my make-up stays put all day when I use Shadow Insurance first.

Best things about Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Candlelight:

• Makes my eyeshadow last perfectly all day
• Gives my eyelids a little shimmer
• A little bit goes a long way

Bath & Body Works Mistletoe Kiss Hand Soap
One of life’s little pleasures is seasonal hand soap. No? Well, maybe I’m easy to please. One thing I know for sure is Bath & Body Works’ Mistletoe Kiss Hand Soap makes me happy. When we first started using it a few weeks ago, I felt a little like Mary Catherine Gallagher from SNL — you know, sniffing my fingers all the time. It smells that good.

Best things about Mistletoe Kiss hand soap:

• It smells yummy
• It smells yummy
• It smells yummy (what else matters?)

Suave Dry Shampoo
This fantastic product was recommended by a commenter last time, so I gave it a try. Turns out, I totally agree with her! It works great and smells good, too. It’s nice to have on hand when you need to extend your ‘do. Also, it smells good. Did I mention that?

Best things about Suave’s Dry Shampoo:

• Inexpensive and works as well as the salon stuff
• Smells good
• Gives your hair extra body – a fun bonus!

Olay Complete Sensitive Skin Moisturizer
When I mentioned that the only thing wrong with Olay Hydrating Liquid is the smell, a smart commenter suggested I give the Sensitive Skin version a try. Genius! No smell AND it has SPF 15. (This post is starting to reveal my obsession with smells, isn’t it?)

Best things about Olay Complete Sensitive Skin Moisturizer:

• No stinky smell
• SPF protection
• Keeps skin moist {you’re welcome for that word, Melissa} without overdoing it

Now it’s your turn! Really, this is my favorite part, so share the love.

Anything goes! What’s the product/website/snack/book you can’t {or wouldn’t want to} live without?

Oh, and in case you noticed, I know I said I’d be writing about 2012 goals this week. I changed my mind, so it’ll have to wait until next week. Happy Thursday!

Congratulations, Melissa!!

I’ll contact you by email to arrange delivery. Enjoy your 2012!

Remember, Jenna is so generous that she’s also offering Girl Grows Up readers FREE shipping through December 31. Just visit Jenze on Etsy and use the code “theGIRL” during check out. AND THERE’S MORE…if you buy more than one calendar and let Jenna know I sent you when you place your order, she’ll add a free gift to your order! Is she awesome or what?

And get ready! On Thursday, I’ll share another round of New Favorites. A couple of them made the list thanks to your comments, so start thinking of your favorite products to share. I can’t wait!