New Year Round Up

I know it's not quite the new year, but I figure it's time to start imagining all the magnificently profound achievements I am yet to accomplish, all while chasing a precocious 20 month old. I haven't made a list in quite some time, so I'm here to bring it back. Some things will be big dreaming and totally contradict other things, but it's well worth writing them all done, and checking them off one by one. If I'm still blogging a year from now, it'll be interesting to see what actually came to fruition and what is totally laughable. So here goes, my aspirations for the grand old year of 2008:

~achieve the goal of getting as close as possible to my pre-pregnancy weight (yes, it is still not totally off, though I am rather close)
~create the final addition to our family
~run a half-marathon (obviously contradicting the previous desire, but not being overly-optimistic that I could do a full marathon...keeping the standards attainable)
~build a privacy fence
~finish some major parts of our house that haven't been touched since Syl arrived
~remain calm
~read more books (above the toddler reading level, that is)
~cut out the bad stuff to achieve goal #2
~get Syl into a big-girl bed
~take a trip to a location desired by both me and my hubbie
~elect an awesome president for the first time in almost a decade
~ride my bike more
~go camping
~spend time on myself (haha)
~watch less t.v.
~make money doing something enjoyable and semi-stress free
~volunteer with Syl
There may be more added to this when I'm in a more positive mood. Syl barely napped this afternoon, despite a long and playful morning with other kids. This meant no break for mommy, and a crabby afternoon for all. On a happier note, my sewing machine came! I'm so thrilled, but have have no time to spend with it.

I hope all had an exciting holiday with only tiny bits of stress. I was very relieved when Wednesday came and I knew it was ALL over. But we had fun hanging out with the family and not overly-indulging Syl in crap made overseas. I haven't taken any pics lately, we did all video over xmas. But I did do a last minute gift for the family and have decided this should be a source of income because it the most awesome idea I've seen through in quite some time. Enjoy! Oh, and if you want me to do the same for your lovely child, I'm available!!!

Sylvia dropped the f* bomb

As the few readers I have may already be aware of, I turned 30 last week. Yes, it was a bit depressing, but some friends tried their damnedest to ease my pain with a few yummy cocktails. Anyway, long story short, this drunken asshole ended up getting pissed at me and telling me off (with a very animated "fuck you!" and a hateful middle finger). The story is long and I've told it so often that I don't really feel like typing it. But I was standing up for a friend and he didn't take that so well.
The day after my bday, I was recapping this story to all I saw. Syl was never near me, but always within an earshot, apparently. Now, those who know me well can attest for the fact that I tend to speak in an uninhibited manner (to be polite). But since Syl has been around and cognisant, I try hard to watch my tongue. When bad words slip through, they are spoken in a normal way and she has never been able to decipher the good from the bad. She repeated damn once after Dave said it in her face (kind of accidentally) after I loudly shut my car door. Ok, damn isn't too bad. When she was a but younger, she repeated shit one time. But she was so little that it was kind of funny and it quickly slipped from her memory. I try very hard to avoid the f-word because she talks so much, repeats everything, and now has a much longer memory. The f-word is to be saved for those special occasions and not thrown around lightly, at least for a 19 month old.
So after a full day of recapping my dramatic tale of my bday, Dave came home for dinner. As we were sitting at the table, Syl blurted it out: Fuck You! Clear as day. Now, the sailor mouth in me wanted to be proud. It is an embarrassingly hilarious reality check when your 19 month old child can't say the entire alphabet yet, tie her shoes, or boil water. But when that 2 syllable phrase so delicately rolls out of their mouth, WOW! Mother of the year, I think I deserve the award for "Yea right, JJ, like You can raise a proper little girl." Dave glared directly at me, as I tried not to react or roll out of my seat with laughter. She repeated it a few more times, until I finally looked at her, very seriously mind you, and told her that's not a nice thing to say (like she knows what nice means).
The subject got dropped, as the holidays have officially taken over our lives. Leading me up to tonight, when the phrase was dropped again. I stared directly into her eyes and calmly stated, "Sylvia, we don't say things like that. Please don't say that again."
Oh karma, you are such a dirty, dirty bitch.

My Ladies of Perpetual Shrinkage

As many of you breastfeeding moms are clearly aware of, the ladies will never, ever, ever (well, sans medical intervention) be the same. Pre-baby, the ladies were "normal". Not perky, by any means, but stable, average, full, you may say. After nursing for god knows how long, weaning, and then sudden, but short-lived pregnancy, they remained substantial. My old shirts never quite fit the same. The ladies were, what I had believed, forever bigger.
Hahahaha. Naive in my theory, there was no truth in that thought. As my body has finally adjusted to no longer nursing, and no longer being pregnant, the ladies are sadly movin on. I know, t.m.i. for the average reader. But as stated before, this is my blog and I'll cry if I want to. They are almost sad, missing the fullness that milk provided. Craving to be filled, all I can do is watch them shrink. They almost look the same, with some bonus stretch marks that pregnancy and breastfeeding provided. But they don't feel the same. They are, dare I say it, empty. You may have already experienced this, you may be soon to find this out, you may never ever know what I am talking about. Say here is the blanket statement: breasts are for breastfeeding, post-breastfeeding breasts are for padded bras.
I have no money, and no desire for surgery. If I were to ever get surgery for something, it would be to permanently remove some extra baggage I carry on my thighs,belly,and ass. Regardless, I'm never going to go under the knife that some regular exercise could take care of. I'm just saying, boob jobs really gross me out. I'll just sit here, with my ladies of perpetual shrinkage, and relish in the fact that I never once paid for formula, bottles, or binkies.

True Xmas Spirit

Tonite I got to leave the house early, I mean pre-bathtime early, to go see a store-owner about carrying my slings. She found me through the Strange Folk and RnRCS4 websites. She just opened a store in downtown Kirkwood and is now carrying my slings! It's a cute little store that just opened this week called Lass & Laddie's. If anything, it's a foot in the door and a kick in my butt to produce more stuff. I hope they sell and her store does well, but in the meantime, at least all those slings are out of my house!

In more chaotic news, this next week is going to chaotic. I know, I know, waaaa waaaa. It's that way for everyone. But this is my blog and I'll cry if I want to. Tomorrow is the playgroup xmas get together at Mobot's train show. Tomorrow nite is knitting group, which I may just skip to finish all the handmade gifts of this year. Wednesday (the big 3-0) is absolute mayhem. Heather wants to do breakfast, my favorite meal of the day. Kelly wants to do lunch of sushi, my all time favorite thing to eat. I have an acupuncture appt. at 3. I wanted to also get my hair cut, but may have to leave that one out. Then the in laws are coming over to spend time with Syl before she goes down for the nite, and we are going up to Urban to party! Thursday my cousin wants to do lunch, again, sushi was suggested. Friday is the absolute last day to finish all the homemades, there are a crapton (it's in the dictionary) because Saturday & Sunday, the family will be here. Luckily, Monday, xmas eve, is totally free and xmas is here at home. So after Sunday, it gets lighter. Good things are: I don't have to travel, almost everything I'm giving out is handmade, and I am alive in a nice house with the man I love and an amazing daughter. Ok, guilt has set in. I really don't have shit to complain about. I'm superficial and feel sorry for myself. But isn't that what the holidays are all about?

Love starts young these days

As a last minute plea for company, we invited the Butter's over for some delicious (a new fav. word of Sylvia's) pizza tonite. Syl almost exploded with excitement as Heather and Baby Eliot walked in the door. What occurred after was a large amount of adorability that can only be explained in a story of photos. P.S. Heather is the worst blogger out there, so for those who needed an update on what Eliot looks like nowadays, this is the blog to read. Blogspot should fire her for not producing enough hilarious blogs since October, especially since she has many fans out there. And by many, I mean a couple. But here are the photos of her super cute baby, and the sprouting love that exists with him and my daughter...



















She's really not this much bigger than him, it was just perspective. But I like to call this one, "Big Girl, Small Boy"



The embrace was quick and blurry, but it was a moment we'll never let them forget.



This is what she'll write in her wedding journal... "When we first met, I couldn't stop talking about him...his eyes, our similarly wild hair, his delicate frame. I wanted to hold him in my arms, but alas! I was so young, so weak. Instead, I shoved loud, banging plastic toys in his face. When he would get bored with me, I would dance in a crazy fashion, taught only to me by my mother, who was battling daily with my delightful toddlerish idiosyncrasies. Maybe my mom was right, we were too young. But I knew, in my heart, that if I couldn't have him now, I would have him someday..."

On a less crazy tip, Heather's cousin, Emily, created some very adorable slings for small children to use. Well, Sylvia happens to adore her sling (did I mention Syl also believes she is 24 years old and that every baby out there is really HER baby?). Here are a few photos of her holding her "baby" tiger (all her baby dolls are too big for her to carry around). Thanks Emily!

Ebay Rox!

I'm so excited... I just won a vintage Brother Industrial sewing machine on ebay. Yea for me!!! Bonus- my mom offered to pay for it for my xmas present (along with the serger she already gave me). I think I'll throw the shitty ass white machine out the window, where it belongs. The older machines are so much better, I was using her Kenmore that she got as a wedding present 40 years ago and it worked beautifully. They just don't make them the way they used to (who's they anyway?)! That's all, bye bye.

The wheels are spinning

I just found out an old friend of mine is pregnant. I'm thrilled for her, she wanted tons of babies and has yet to start, so yea for her. Talking to her for over an hour about it made me reminisce of those first weeks of total excitement and fearful joy. You don't know what you're getting into, even if it was planned. She didn't even know how to figure out how far along she is, but that's typical of her personality. I wish I lived near her to share the experience, but she is set in her distant location, so I will be her long distant words of wisdom. Oh, babies.
I got a phone call this morning from that photographer I interviewed with last month (finally). I will be assisting her 3 times in January, which is good financial news. That is a generally bleak month money wise, due to the impending taxes and all. It'll also help determine if assisting part-time is really what I want to do. It pays decent, and the hours are perfect for my family. We'll see...
So Butter and I have been discussing a plan to open a kid's store here in the south side. I got super excited about the idea today after talking with my old boss Mo. She is on board and believes our idea would be great for the area, so I called Butter to tell her I'm back on board. I had moments of doubt, which I'll probably have again. But for some reason, I needed a good swift kick in the ass to remind me to go ahead and take the chance. Talking about it isn't going to kill me, and maybe a really positive, life-changing thing will emerge from it. Let's face it, I really don't work well under authority, I like to be in charge, and I'm a control freak. That being stated to those who don't know me, being my own boss (co-boss) seems to be the best solution. I would love to design a location, make it an awesome place for parents and babies, and contribute to the good of this stinky city. So the wheels have begun to spin, hopefully they won't make me too dizzy, as my wheels tend to do.
On a crafting tip, I am the world's worst knitter. I think I need to abandon the needles and focus on other crafting ventures. Why is something, which should be meditative and relaxing, make me want to smash my head into bricks on a regular basis? Plus, it's giving me carpal tunnel (which I'm sure I'm spelling wrong).
P.S. (doesn't really pertain to a blog, but I'm silly like that). My big 3-0 is next Wednesday, and all are welcome to toast it up with me at Urban on Grand (the old Lemongrass) from 9 on. No gifts (not that you cheap bitches out there would bring me gifts, or vice versa for that), just you and your ability to drink copious amounts of yummy cocktails.

Just Another Manic Monday

I'm so happy the craft show is over. We took Syl yesterday to check things out and pick up my stuff. I guess I'll have an exact count when I get my check later this week. Either way, several are gone, and every bit counts. We are so broke right now, especially since those lovely insurance companies decide to send my damn d&c bill straight away, just in time for xmas. Bastards. I guess we have to pay a $1000 deductible every year when we have the bigger ticket items. If I would have known that, I probably would have simply made the trip to the neighborhood Planned Parenthood and saved my family over $600. Insurance companies are total succubi... if that is a word. You get my drift...

In knitting news, I finished my round hat, though I ended up squaring off the top for a quick finish. I dropped the last stitch due to my eyes closing from being so tired, so it made for a bumpy finish. But all in all, it's uber-cute. I sent it off to my nephew, since he has no winter hat yet, so I didn't get any photos. But it was cute. I used super small needles so the weave was so tight, it looked machine, stitched. Professional, eh? Plus, it took about half the time as my other hats. Who knew?

In womanly body news, I got my first post-d&c monthly visitor this weekend, if you know what I mean ladies. I wanted to start off with a slight warning, either to intrigue or to deter readers. I wasn't expecting it so soon, post-procedure, but it showed up like a lion, and is still roaring away. It's good news and depressing news simultaneously. It means I can get pregnant again, if I choose, after my next cycle. But it's an unfriendly reminder that I am not pregnant now. It's ok, I now realize that I wasn't emotionally ready. But it's such a Fuck You when your body has to decide your fate, not your mind. I want another baby, and I'll have one. But the bloody mess that is my period is mocking the choices I was making for my family. Damn empty uterus syndrome.
I told you with my warning, you kept on reading. Your fault!!

I can't tell if it's hormones, or this putrid weather (does that even make since??), but I am feeling rather surly and bitter. Anyone else?

Why do I keep asking questions to dead air? I'm going crazy...

Craft Show Mayhem

Today (and tomorrow) was the Rock n Roll Craft Show 4. Representing South City Slings, I made my appearance to work my shift and do a sling demo. When I arrived, the show was in full swing and very busy. Everyone seemed real excited about the great finds, despite the long check out lines. I worked in the baby section, where I was slightly disappointed by my sling location, but oh well. When I left, I had sold 9 slings, which is great. But my demo was a total bust. For some crazy reason, I decided to do my demo at 5 pm, prime baby dinner hour. Noone was even in the building with a baby. Who wants to watch a baby sling demo with no baby in tow? Not me, or anyone else. So, to evade total humiliation, I went back to the sales floor to be charming and helpful to customers. I hope to sell more tonite and tomorrow, but we'll see. What doesn't sell goes straight away to my etsy page. Despite the mayhem that was the beginning, it was settling into a nice flow of shoppers, happily contributing to the local craft market. I hope this means St. Louis is hopping on the indie craft fair market, cuz I am broke as all get out!

My next venture is the Indie Valentine Festival in February at Maplewood's Cooper Ella's Kids Boutique. I've been trying to get them to carry my slings anyway, so maybe this will help. I recently became a member of the St. Louis Craft Mafia, which is a highly organized group of crafting ladies. I have a link to their page, and will soon have several links to all the members pages. Looks like I have to sew, sew, sew! I thank Rachel for getting me hooked.

On a knitting note, I've been knitting in the round a baby hat for my nephew Alec. I think I'm getting carpal tunnel from the over-excitedness to finish it quickly, but it's turning out super cute. I think this is the way to go now. The weave is very tight and almost perfect looking. It's hard to drop/add stitches this way. I'll take a photo when it's complete. Now it just looks like a crazy round tube. I thank Heather Butter for this addiction. Oh, and she's to thank for the craft show frenzy. Love you Butter!

Thursday Note in D

Sylvia and I decided to help Nicole out and hang out with Ava, Sylvia's playgroup pal. She's almost 3.5 years old, but Syl believes that she herself is 24 years old, so it's a good match.
We picked Ava and her carseat up this morning and headed over to the train show (yes, again. it's free for us, I can't resist). The girls coulda gave a damn about those amazing trains, and instead found joy in twirling about and laughing hysterically. It was pretty damn cute. Of couse, I decided to bring the video camera instead of the digital camera, due to it's small size. After recording about 3 minutes of the dance, the battery died. So much for being prepared for those special moments...
After lunch, Syl and I returned Ava to her home to join her family and new sis, baby Rosa. The girls had a blast, and it wasn't too much over the work I spend taking Syl somewhere alone. The most cumbersome bit is loading 2 kids into carseats, but that was it. They eat the same thing for lunch (except Syl ate about 3x as much as Ava). They play well together, and Ava is so polite. Bonus, the new parents got a well deserved nap.
In knitting news, I'm attempting to knit in the round, which I believe I may have messed up on already. But if I can be successful at it, my baby hats will take about half the time to make. I have no funny stories today, purely informative and a bit lackluster. Anybody else having a rather mellow Thursday?
I'll be getting my xmas cards soon to send out, so if I need your address, which I probably do, email it over to my sling address (southcityslings@gmail.com). Rachel, this goes for you too! I don't think I have your new one. Later peeps, stay warm!

Santa, that Devilish Man

Meeting Santa can be a terrifying experience for a toddler, as was the case for lil miss Sylvia yesterday. When we awoke, we had nothing planned for the cold morning that was Sunday. So when I remembered that the Botanical Gardens had their train show up, when decided to venture on over. When we arrived, we realized it was 'Breakfast with Santa' day. We hadn't signed up to go, but the nice old ladies working the table let us in to meet old white beard himself. Sylvia had a death grip on me or Dave the entire time, especially when Snowman, Teddy Bear, or Reindeer-the devil himself- would venture within 10 feet of us. It was pretty entertaining.

So as we stood in line for Santa, Syl became more comfortable with her surroundings. We were watiching Santa, talking happily about how she was going to sit on his lap, and trying to get her pumped. HA! I don't know who I was fooling, but it wasn't Syl.

When it was our turn, I acted quickly, handing her right off to Santa (Dave was prepared with the camera). She let out this huge scream, deafening everyone in the room. I don't think my face even had time to turn red! Santa immediately told me to get up there with him, she leapt in my arms, and buried her face in my chest, still screaming. Anywho, here is the hilarious photo of the entire 1 second she was alone on her lap. Dave thinks it's torture, but I tried to remind him that Sylvia won't remember any of the events that happen before she is 3 or 4, so why not provide some humourous and embarassing events to tease her about later? Do I get the mom-of-the-year award or what??

We then walked downstairs to the train show, which she didn't give 2 shits about. I don't know what it is that gets engrained at such a young age, but all (ALL) the little boys there were freaking out about the trains. Syl, and most little girls, were more interested in the animal details, or the copious amounts of poinsiettas everywhere. It was pretty funny. Here are some shots of her looking quite pensive, not giving a damn about the marvelous, and rather large, train exhibit.

Most importantly, over anything else, she looked super-adorable. The red dress, seen above, was way too short for our incredibly growing toddler, so it poofed out in a ridiculous fashion. But everyone stopped to comment how freaking cute she was. I always reply, "I know, thank you!"

I don't think she would've hated Santa so much if she knew about all the obnoxious stuff from China that he is about to bestow onto her.