Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Officially SAHM

For those of you not familiar with blogging/chat room lingo SAHM stands for Stay At Home Mom. As of today that is what I am. Sure I coach and work in retail at night but I will be home with my little girl during the days. For the past couple of months Mike and I have been trying to find more ways to make extra income. We found that cleaning houses was something I could do and bring Lily with me. It only took a couple of weeks for Miss Lily to make it very apparent that although I thought it was a good situation, she was not fond of it. I would find myself feeling guilty as she would cry more and I would let her so that I could finish a room or I would hold her while I cleaned. The house also wasn't baby proof in any way so I couldn't let Lily roam out of the pack n' play without me watching her. That wasn't alright with me so I turned in my broom and microfiber cloth to stay home. Now I can make my house clean instead of someone else's.

To be honest I think it took me almost 8 months to be okay with being a SAHM. It had to do with the financial aspect but more so my convictions which were conflicting daily until now. I was raised by a single mom who did a fantastic job. My mom worked at a school so she was always home when we were, so I value what she was able to do for us and want to be able to provide the same care and opportunities for Lily. At the same time I am a workaholic...kind of.... and always need to be doing something. I spent a lot of money on getting a degree and think I should be using it since I will be paying it off for the next 10 years. Also after the chores are done at home and Lily is asleep I don't know what to do with myself which is why I have been working part time during the day.

Now that Lily is 8 months next week and she is starting to be more mobile and interactive I find it more fun and fulfilling to be home. I don't regret working the last 8 months because I needed it to feel like a regular person and to have a transition between life without and life with our little girl. I still have my retail at nights at least for the summer and coaching for as long as I can. A regular person to me now is being a Mom. Sometimes it's lonely but Lily's little smiles are worth it.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Talkin' & Scootin'

Mike and I had a crazy great weekend. We both took our team to tournaments in Ohio and had some success. Lily was with me and my sister and Mike had 3 teams to take care of. Considering the long drive and long days living out of the car Lily did very well. She got fussy a couple of times and I couldn't blame her since she was in the stroller or car seat for most of Saturday and Sunday.
Lily loved the trophy so I had her help me hand
them out to my team :)
But when we got back home Lily had a lot of energy. Monday night and Tuesday morning were very exciting. Mike taught Lily how to say "Dada" on Monday night. She has been doing it in long babbles but all it took was Daddy playing with her and it came right out. Check out the adorable video here.

Then Lily slept until 8am which I loved :) Started our morning play time and Lily was done with her superman pose (see example below). She was ready to move. Excuse my poor video skills but check out those videos here and here
The Superman pose


I know she turns 8 months in 8 days but milestones like this can't wait that long to be shared!

We have a lot going on in the next 2 weeks so Lily's 8 month post will be a little late but full of fun details on our little girl and her family. Can't wait to see everyone!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

After the Bump

How I feel about postpartum living is a love/hate relationship. I love my baby girl and am so lucky to be her mom. Loving my body has been a different story. I gained almost 50 lbs while carrying Lily and lost half of it within the first 2 weeks after giving birth. I was so motivated! I wasn't allowed to do anything for the first 2 weeks postpartum and had still lost weight.

It has taken me another 6.5 months to lose 19 more pounds. With 6 lbs left to go I am starting to realize even when I get back to my pre-baby weight my body is forever different. I can't wear my wedding rings which is a huge struggle for me. Adults of all ages look at Lily and immediately look at my left hand to see if I am wearing a ring. The disapproving looks that I get when I run errands hurt. I know I shouldn't care so much about what others think but I do. I am proud to be Mike's wife and I want to be able to wear the symbols to show it. I now find myself covering my hand without even thinking about it as I hold Lily. Hopefully one day soon I can figure out how to lose weight in my hands I guess?

Anyway my teenager jeans and shorter tops have been donated to Goodwill and I am slowly building a mommy wardrobe. T-shirts, tanks and cardigans are my weakness. The longer shorts, that aren't quite bermudas but have an inseam of 10" are fantastic! I got a pair at Gap the other day (see below). Now the model who wore these had no thighs, hips or butt so they look super loose. With my mommy body I have all those so they look much more fitted.

I also got a shirt today at Goodwill for only $3! I am so addicted to horizontal stripes. This T was a great find because the stripes alternate between white, grey, and black which help to hide my softer parts :) I hope to check back at Goodwill and other second hand stores often as the weather finally decides to turn to spring.


I have noticed that eating out less, a result of our new budget thanks to Dave Ramsey, has also played a part in my eating habits improving.
1.1.14 The day after we found
out we were pregnant
2.14.14 6 month postpartum
Here's hoping that coaching four days a week, cleaning 12 hours a week, working in retail 8 hours a week and chasing my cutie 7 month old the rest of the time will help me work off the rest of these silly LBS!









                 

7 Months and Everything Else

Oops, a bit late again. Lily is growing so fast and learning so much that it is hard to keep track of everything she is doing! For starters she now does it all, well kind of. Lily reaches for anything and everything, then it all goes in her mouth. She stole food off my plate today and proceeded to try and eat it. Still no teeth! She has been trying to imitate Mike and I even more. Before it was just movements but now it is exact sounds as well. She waves at people when we run errands. Crawling is still a work in progress, check out the video here (Just a heads up it is a long video:) Her personality and attitude is showing more and more daily. Mike and I get a real kick out of it. Watching Lily grow up is scary and amazing at the same time :)



 Lily can feed herself!
Steals my drinks constantly!


Wal Mart trip Lily was reading everyone a story


First trip to the park, with a snack! Lily really 
             wanted to play with the other kids.

We are truly happy to be dedicating Lily on Mother's Day at our church. We have so much going on in the next couple of months and because of all the wonderful events we will get to see family more than we usually do with living six hours away from our closest family. It might even call for more than one blog post a month!