Archive for the ‘motherhood’ Category

Why not? Resolutions. 2012.

4 Comments
Posted 03 Jan 2012 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category I am awesome, marriage, motherhood

Hi! I’m back again! How’s your mom? Great.

I haven’t done new year’s resolutions in a few years, so I figure I’ll give them a shot. I’m going to try to keep it simple, but I think we all know this will fall apart by mid-February. It’s the thought that counts though, AMIRIGHT?

Hokay.

  1. Keep it clean.
    This is in reference to two things. First, my house. Since I haven’t really blogged in like, a fafillion years, I need to update you with the following information. Last night I washed a pan that I used on Christmas Eve. Go ahead and read that again. Yes, it had been sitting on my kitchen counter with dried up brussel sprout remnants on it for over 9 days. Shit gets dirty in our house and it just stays that way, due to no one having time and all of us being slobs. BUT ENOUGH OF THAT. I’m going to make sure that every night, the dirty dishes are in the dishwasher, and all of Abby’s toys are back in her room and clothes are put away…okay. I’m already tired just typing that. But for serious though – this needs to happen. My brain starts to fall apart in the disarray.

    Also, must stop using swears in front of Abbers, or letting her watch non-kid friendly stuff. We had been letting her watch Family Guy (we’re up for a parenting award, I’m aware) and unfortunately she started watching the Christmas episode. After the episode was nearly over (the plot was Stewie wanted to kill Santa – TOTALLY kid friendly) we turned it off after realizing it was not even close to appropriate for her. But not before she started saying “Kill Santa!” Right. No more swears. Or Family Guy. Keep it clean.

  2. Purge, purge, purge.
    After Christmas, it became even MORE glaringly obvious that we have too much stuff in our house. Mostly, ABBY has too much stuff in our house. Yes, I have a lot of clothes and shoes but OMG. THE TOYS. They’re everywhere. We haven’t really shifted the baby toys out of the rotation yet, and thus crap is overflowing and all over the place, which contributes to my clean-house issues. We have to get rid of some of this stuff, whether it’s just storing it out of the way, or donating it, IT HAS TO GO. My friend Mae said something about stuffed animals the other day and I totally agree. Although I don’t know if I could get rid of any of Abby’s because I love them so much, but there’s SO MANY.

  3.  Lay off the drugs.
    (I know, this is starting to sound like a re-hab checklist, but whatever. They’re my resolutions.)
    I mentioned back in the fall that I had started medication to make the crazies go away. They’ve been helping, for sure. But they’re also kind of numbing me out. (Remember how I don’t blog anymore? Yeah, I’m passing the blame that-a-way.) I know I’m not better yet, I still have some spectacular panic attacks, but I’m getting there. And I hope to be off these suckers sometime this summer. That would be kick ass. Turns out feeling your feelings is pretty awesome. I miss those days.

  4. Make it pretty.
    I’ve mentioned making over our bedroom and attic on this blog a few times. Know how far along I am with those? NOWHERE. I have a brain full of ideas and nothing to show for them. I would love to just DO IT. Turn our bedroom into a serene snooze-room and the attic into a shared office and guest room. And I plan on doing it this year. I know that I don’t have to do everything all at once. Baby steps. I’m cool with that. But I have to START. All I need to do is get some fresh paint on the walls and the rest will fall into place. Now, just to get the paint up on the walls…And finally…the obvious…ever present resolution…

  5. BLOG MORE. (and take more photos)
    I say this every time I blog lately. I truly DO want to blog more. However, see #3. I don’t know why, but I just don’t have it in me. When Abby’s finally in bed and the hubs and I have that hour or so before WE go to bed, I can’t imagine being productive. I just sit. Or I hop on the interwebs and Pinterest screws my night over. (It’s happened to you too, I know it.) Not to mention we’ve actually been going to bed around Abby’s bedtime lately. Pretty soon we’ll be in bed so we can catch the Wheel before it’s over at 7.

    So in addition to (Christ on a cracker, what the hell do I think I’m doing?) making sure everything’s picked up before I go to bed, I want to dump all my photos onto the computer, and craft a post or two a week. It doesn’t seem that hard, even though lately I know it is. But I am really going to try. And I think I might try a little blog makeover this year. Could be fun, right?

Wow. Okay. That’s a lot. But really it isn’t. And in the long run, these will help me feel more productive and like a real human being again. That would be awesome.

Are you attempting resolutions this year?

Adios crib. Hello big girl bed.

1 Comment
Posted 11 Dec 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, house stuffs, motherhood, paparazzi

Three hours and one effed up shoulder later, we have this.

I have to say, I love it. I got choked up when I started taking apart her crib/toddler bed. When the hubs and I brought the pieces down to the basement, I wondered if we’d ever put it back together again. (I made sure to separate all the screws and bolts and label them accordingly, so I don’t curse the day I ever took it apart. You know, just in case.) And then I started feeling panicky and sweaty so I decided to worry more about getting an Ikea bed assembled and less about procreation and the next five years of my life.

Anyway, Abby loves her new NEW big girl bed.

Monday years old.

2 Comments
Posted 27 Oct 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, motherhood, paparazzi

Today, Abigail turned two. Or as she would like to have you know, “Monday.”

For the last few weeks we’ve been asking her how old she’s going to be, or how old she is…the answer is always “Monday.”

We don’t understand why, but that’s the way it is.

So to my lovely ladybug, the love of my life, my sunshine on cloudy days…

…I’m so happy to be the mama of a little girl who’s Monday.

Holy crap. This is really happening.

7 Comments
Posted 26 Oct 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, motherhood, paparazzi

So, we made this transition last night.

The toddler rail went on the crib.

Abby had started this new life plan which included waking up anytime between 1 am and 4 am crying, DEMANDING to go into our room and sleep in our bed. I would try to just hold her in her room, or rock her in the chair in the corner, but no good. Hysterical, gag-crying, screaming “GO RIGHT DERRRR!” while pointing to our bedroom.  And it’s 2:17 in the morning. And I’m totally fucking tired. So, YES. PLEASE SLEEP IN OUR ROOM IF IT MEANS I CAN SLEEP RIGHT NOW. PLZTHX.

Yeah. That got old. And fast. So during her two year wellness check yesterday**, her doctor recommended we try a toddler bed. Maybe she just doesn’t like the whole ‘behind bars’ thing. I get that. Who wants to sleep while constantly fearing becoming someone’s bitch and making sure you don’t drop the soap? Granted, I don’t think she’s aware of those kinds of fears, but I’m sure there’s some toddler-equivalent to frightening prison situations. Like not being able to watch Mickey Mouse whenever or being forced to use a binkie with “ackies” on it. Or child labor.

When I got home from work yesterday I swapped the crib rail for the toddler rail, and waited for the hubs to get home with Abbers. He had told her we had a surprise for her, and when she got in the room and saw it…it was nothing but smiles and squeals and proclamations that “it’s boootiful!!” “BIG GIRL BED!!!!1!!1!”

It was a huge success. The rest of the evening she sat in her bed demanding we bring her books so she could lay and look at them in her big girl bed. We gladly obliged.

She slept through the night in her new bed.

**Yeah, my kid is going to be two. TOMORROW. What? Like, WTF. She moved into the “Older Toddlers” room today at daycare too. I’m pretty sure tomorrow she’s going to start stealing my makeup and planning trips to the mall with her girlfriends AND MOM PLEASE DON’T EMBARRASS ME LIKE THAT. That’s all happening tomorrow. When she turns two. This is all happening too fast. Someone hand me a bottle of wine.

We now return to regularly scheduled crappy posts.

4 Comments
Posted 09 Aug 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category motherhood, other people are awesome, posting on-the-go

Okay, I’m going to write a post about my BlogHer adventures soon (like, when I have more than five minutes where I’m not doing laundry or cleaning or inhaling carrot cake) (stop judging), but in the meantime, enjoy this effing HILARIOUS video that Martini made for me. She knows me too well.

If you’ll just look up my sleeve…

2 Comments
Posted 21 Jul 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category blog bidnass, I am awesome, motherhood, other people are awesome, RAD

…you’ll see one of the things I’ve been “keeping a secret” around here…

I’m a contributor at a new site called “Liberating Working Moms!” Loverly Tracy (formerly of Mommyhood at Thirty fame) approached me a while ago about the idea for the site and I was excited from the beginning.

Liberating Working Moms: One Voice at a Time was founded by Tracy who wanted a place to commiserate with other working mommas. Ultimately, we are a group of moms, trying to get the word out about all the trepidations and rewards that come with being a working momma. It’s liberating to share our journeys of figuring out what works, what doesn’t, and what’s simply best for right now. Though the guise of this blog is under the working momma category, we hope that all moms will find something to read. Because really, all moms are moms. We all struggle. We all have rewards. We all need some advice. And we all have antics to tell about.

So come join our community: Liberating Working Moms: One Voice at a Time. Read about who we are. Subscribe to our feed to get up to date postings. Follow us on Twitter. And join in our antics on Facebook.

**Today my post (originally published on Blogged Bliss) titled “Where Separation Anxiety Meets Mommy Anxiety” is the featured post. Boo-ya.

Oh how I love my Martini.

2 Comments
Posted 15 Jun 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, blog bidnass, motherhood, other people are awesome

I’m talking about my bestie, of course.

Please read her post about her weekend with Abby, the toddler:  They Grow Up So Fast These Days

Where separation anxiety meets mommy anxiety.

4 Comments
Posted 14 Jun 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, baby business, motherhood

Last Wednesday was a big day in the Mrs. Jenna household. Not only was the hubs leaving for a 5 day-long fishing trip in Canada, but Abby was starting her first day of daycare.

After dropping off the hubs at his buddy’s house, Abbers and I headed a few blocks away to her new daycare. We got out of the car, headed inside, and Abby immediately bee-lined for the toys as she had on Monday during our “hang out” session.

I placed her pacifier and blanket in her cubby, handed off a package of diapers, and then stood there. I didn’t want to leave, mostly because I knew she would freak out. That, and that I couldn’t see what was happening once I was gone. I lingered a bit, and she started to get upset, so Miss Hillary distracted her with the awesome suggestion of reading a book. When Abby walked to the rug to see which book they were going to read, I slipped out of the room. I got a little teary eyed, and called the hubs to let him know how it went. I had anxiety stomach for the first time in MONTHS, but knew that it seemed not so bad.

Around lunch, I stopped by to peek in the window and see what she was doing (while not letting her see me). She was laying on a pile of pillows with a book, by herself. She’s doing great! I thought. Not long after lunch, I got a call from Miss Hillary. I was wrong.

“Well, after she realized you were gone she cried most of the morning until we went outside. Then she came back in kind of sad, but ate some lunch, and was really tired. (That’s when I peeked in, was after lunch.) Then she laid down on her cot and fell asleep.”

Okay, now I felt horrible, yet reminded myself that THIS IS A TRANSITION PERIOD AND TOTALLY NORMAL. When I went to pick her up after work she was sitting on the same pillows, and when she saw me it was immediate tears. She was so happy to see me. Of course, I teared up too. Apparently after lunch it was more tears, and more happy when she was outside, but then really sad when parents started showing up and none of them were me.

*sigh*

I knew Thursday would be like, eleventy billion times worse. Now she knew what was coming. Thursday I decided to take the train with her instead. She LOVES the light rail and I figured it’d distract her from what was really happening. When we got outside the daycare, I sat on a park bench to get her out of the Ergo and said “We’re going to see the kids! Your friends!” And she replied with – “Gasp! Oooo!” Again, false sense of hope.

We got inside and she was okay for about 20 seconds until she started bawling and clinging to me with a death grip. I tried reasurring her that it was okay, and that I would be back to get her soon (lie). She was crying so hard that the gag-crying had begun. I looked at Miss Hillary and mouthed, “I don’t know what to do” while fighting the tears back myself. Hillary took her from my arms and walked into the room a little more and said, “She’ll be okay, maybe stop by later after lunch?” I told her I was afraid to upset her again, but I’d think about it. I left to the sounds of Abby sobbing and screaming “MAMA! MAMA!!!”

I walked out of the daycare and broke down. I kept trying to remind myself that things would get better but at that moment they could not have been any worse. I had no one to call – the hubs was in Canada and had no cell phone reception, and everyone else I could talk to was asleep or in a different time zone.

I couldn’t stop by during lunch. I was too upset and couldn’t bring myself to make her upset again. Plus, I was picking her up at 3pm, so I knew it was soon enough. When I picked her up this time, she was eating a snack, and again cried when she saw me. I guess she again had a rough day, but just ever-so-slightly better than the day before.

Tomorrow we begin again. I know every week we’ll slip back on any progress made the week before since she has so much time between visits, but I’m hoping for the best. I know that by the end of the month it will be better than it was last week, so that keeps my chin up.

It’s just mind blowing to me that this is THIS difficult for just me to endure. It makes me wish we’d had her start sooner. Not that it would have been any better, but HOLY SHIT dudes. I’d nearly take childbirth again if it meant I didn’t have to live through that agony every week.

Memorial Day Weekend = Good Memories

1 Comment
Posted 01 Jun 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, I am awesome, motherhood, paparazzi, The Hubs

Well, the fact that I am posting means I survived our first plane trip with the Abbers. For reals, Internets? She was a muthereffing rock star on that plane.

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Blurry walking through the airport photo.

 

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Getting prepared for the flight. With Goldfish.

She totally made that plane her bitch on the way there. Slept through takeoff and EVERYTHING. (Virtual high-fives.) Although, she never really understood that she was ON a plane. When we landed she was all “AIRPLANE! AIRPLANE!” upon seeing all the planes at their gates. I reminded her a couple times that DUDE WE ARE ON A PLANE but it didn’t really register.

Sidenote – you can check a carseat FOR FREE when you fly on Delta. I was not aware of that. Also? Awesome.

Anyway, we had a LOT of fun with the fam and Abby in the Bay Area. We hit up a few wineries on Friday afternoon, then headed to the Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve. All Abby wanted to do was climb the trees like her older cousins, whom she referred to simply as “BOYSSSS!!” Unfortunately, she was a bit too little to do the tree climbing thing.

 

Abby going for a hike while mom & dad get wasted at the vineyards. (just kidding.) (sort of.)

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RedWOODS! (To be shouted like IngleWOOD!) (Like Dr. Dre.) (Duh.)

Saturday we headed into the city for some farmers market action and then a playground for the kiddies, as well as made an attempt to go shopping, but a random downpour ended that quickly. So, in typical Jenna fashion, we went back on Sunday to Haight Street where I bought two adorable new dresses, as well as a shirt for the hubs.

Dont even act like youre offended.

Then Monday morning we headed back to the airport with a toddler unwilling to nap. She did okay on the flight back, but had some ear issues upon landing. And then had some meltdown issues from not sleeping.

All in all though? It went really, really well. Thank you everyone for all the advice and willingness to listen to me freak out about this trip.

Beta Test: Complete.

2 Comments
Posted 25 May 2011 — by Mrs. Jenna
Category Abigail, baby business, motherhood, The Hubs

Monday night the hubs and I had tickets to see the Minnesota Twins play some (rotten) baseball, and although we had someone to watch Abbers, we decided to bring her along. It’s one of the few games we had tickets to with just the two of us, so it was worth the shot.

Overall, she was good. However, it was a great second test to see how she’ll do on our trip – specifically on the airplane. Without a seat of her own.

Result? SHE IS SQUIRMY. MY GOD, she is squirmy. We must have passed her back and forth about 30 times in the first inning alone, as well as her modifying her position in our laps a billion times.

So THAT’S why people say the littles should have their own seat.

(If you’re wondering why I haven’t posted any ADORABLE pictures of her at the game, it’s because WE BROUGHT A TODDLER TO A BASEBALL GAME and I didn’t have a third arm to take a picture with. Toddler wrangling should be a sport.)

Anyway, we ended up leaving the game around the 5th inning because her highness was getting tired and was signaling we needed to go. I was pretty panicked at the thought of our flight, but the hubs reminded me we just endured 5 innings of baseball without toys or a DVD player. A little less than two hours of keeping a child entertained with funny faces and french fries. Not too bad.

We leave for our trip tomorrow.

(I haven’t packed anything yet and have to get laundry done tonight on top of packing.)

(I’m just a little panicky.)

(And I’m serious about toddler wrangling being a sport. Do you see this face? SERIOUS.)

I’ll more than likely be tweeting the hell out of our trip, and maybe a “post” with pictures while we’re away.

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