Baby boosters vs play partners!

When Charlotte was just a tiny tiny 5lb peanut we met some excellent neighbors and friends that told us about the library's baby boosters program. Charlotte has been going since she was 1 month old! 

When I was on maternity leave and working at my old job we went every Tuesday morning at the Arbutus library to  sing, play, and read with other babies and parents.  It's a lot of fun! 

Well this weekend we tried the Howard County libraries version, play partners! Here is my review! 

Proximity: arbutus library will always win because I can walk to it! But the elkridge branch was only six minutes away, so it's just as close to the Catonsville library, only it has better parking! 

Activities: I must say they are fairly equal, but I liked Howard county better! When we arrived they had a ton of stuffed animals already out on the carpet to keep my mover and shaker busy until it started or during a time when she couldn't see the books!  The format is fairly similar! Arbutus always has bubbles, but Catonsville does not and Charlotte loves bubbles! Howard co. Had a big fan that had a bubble wand in front of it creating lots of bubbles she chased around!

Welcome: Baltimore county library takes it because they introduce each baby by name! I missed that at the Howard county library! 

Accessibility: Howard county takes it all the way! They offer play partners several times a week and some of those are on weekends and evenings during the week! It makes it easy for a working mom to participate. Arbutus offers no weekend or evening baby boosters and Catonsville has Saturday classes once a month.  The other difference is that at arbutus and Catonsville you have to register to attend and it's often full.  During spring break I tried to register for arbutus's program and it was full and we couldn't go, we did get into the Catonsville one that week though! Elkridge you do not have to register, which I thought would make it very crowded, but it was no more full than the arbutus one! I think it's because they offer so many, we went to the Saturday 10:15 one and they also had one at 11:15

Overall they are fairly similar, but Howard county wins for their accessibility!! It's no matter because this summer I plan to go to all of them as much as possible, because its fun, FREE and educational! 

In addition to play partners Howard county library has a ton of other programs for kids we will be checking out so stay tuned!! 

Mothers Day!

Well this weekend was my first mother’s day! I cannot express my gratitude to the powers that be, how thankful and lucky I am that I get to call myself a mom. Charlotte is absolutely amazing. I am so lucky and thankful to have her in my life.

My first mother’s day was pretty uneventful I must say. Charlotte didn’t cook me breakfast or let me sleep in, no one gave me jewelry or flowers, I didn’t go to out to eat a fancy dinner, I wasn’t pampered at the spa or showered with gifts. But mother’s day was still amazing. The amazing thing is that I get to call myself a mother.

You watch all these t.v. commercials for jewelry and spa trips and tips to “spoil mom on mothers day” and you watch sitcoms of kids bringing their mom breakfast in bed on the cutest bed tray with a flower (does anyone out there actually have these breakfast in bed trays in real life?) and none of them matter on mother’s day when you’re a mother. What is important is spending time with your children (or in my case, my amazingly awesome baby girl). Mother’s day to me was about reflecting on being a mother and what that means to me.

I should start by saying that I am awfully lucky to be a mom. Not everyone who wants to be a mother is blessed in this way, and I am learning to thank my lucky stars every day that I was chosen to be Charlotte’s mother. On mother’s day I took extra time for cuddles and extra time for kisses. I took extra time for giggles and smiles. It was nice just to reflect on the amazing child that I made and have been raising. I am proud of the job I am doing and I am loving every minute I get to spend with her…seriously even those, three o’clock in the morning and I just want to sleep moments.

In my first eleven months being a mom, I have learned the following key points that EVERY new mom should know:

· It’s not easy…the sitcoms lied!

· It’s not pretty…there will be a point in your life where your child has poop from their ankle to their neck, and you have not slept or showered in over 24 hours

· Nothing works out the way you planned or pictured…so although difficult, try not to plan too much, it takes away from the crazy fun days ahead.

· It is important to take time to laugh and smile with your baby, the toys can be cleaned up later…seriously

· It is not easy or glamorous keeping a tiny human alive and well. In fact, your hair will never look the same and your eyes will have permanent bags underneath them, and you would trade your entire handbag AND shoe collection for two hours of uninterrupted sleep.

· Don’t feel pressured to listen to everyone else’s advice…you know your baby better than anyone, seriously you do.

· You have no idea what you’re doing (it’s ok no one else does either!)

· DON’T WORRY!!! You got this shit yo.

Each mother’s day I will take time to reflect on the things I have learned about being a mom and take time to remember the moments that year that I will treasure always. Each smile, each laugh, each hug and kiss…they go in the vault. I have never felt more blessed on mother’s day before. I could not imagine my life without Charlotte, even though it wasn’t that long ago that she wasn’t in my life. She is here now and although some days it is hard, it is always worth it. Although some days I have no sleep or no food, it doesn’t matter, because I am happy just to be with her.

I have no idea who actually reads this blog. Apparently someone does, because Google tells me how many views it has had. To whoever reads this blog, if you were one of the people who sent me a card, a text, a Facebook post, an email on mother’s day, I’d like to thank you. Your kind words mean more than you know. Life is funny that way. The people you expect to send cards and messages, don’t, and then out of the blue you are overwhelmed with support from others (mostly other mothers, who understand what being a mother is about and how special mother’s day is J) Seriously though you guys. It is nice to be told you’re doing a good job. It is not something I hear very often, and in the middle of the night when I am awake with a screaming poopy baby am all alone and have no idea what I am doing, I think back to the nice things people have said to me and the cards and messages I have received and remind myself, that I am in fact doing a great job, and that there are other mother’s out there who are likely also awake, listening to screaming and cleaning up poop. Although it isn’t the most glamorous job out there, it is the BEST job.

I know it isn’t mother’s day right now, but if you have a mom, know a mom, etc, say something nice to them. Seriously. Go do it. If you are a mom….you fucking rock. Seriously.

 

The Color Run!

Well Charlotte participated in her first 5K! On Saturday we did the color run! 

The color run is touted as the happiest 5k on the planet. It is a run where you start wearing all white and end up looking like a rainbow. It sounded fun so I figured we'd try it! 

Registration was easy, but I heard it sold out quick! Packet pickup wasn't terrible, but had I arrived even ten minutes later and it would have been a nightmare! The line was super long! They had a pre race pickup party. They had music and food trucks and people hanging out in the grass. We only waited in line for about 45 minutes to get our packets, but when I left, the line had more than tripled in size, so I imagine many people were waiting a long time for their packets. 

While in line we weren't really able to participate in the pre race party, it was hard to hear the music and the food was on the other side, so we couldn't even browse potential menu items from the line. I was disappointed that there were no representatives from the color run, pumping us up in line! At one point someone came and handed out temporary tattoos that said "happy" on them. Which was cool, but they stopped right at the people behind us and the line was much much longer than that, in our 45 minute wait that was the only person we saw!  Also, there was no representative from the run directing people where to go/where the line was, it was annoying because we as we got closer, we realized there were a lot of people skipping the line and cutting in, and the girls at the "gate" (front of the line into packet pickup area) didn't notice or care!  Luckily it was only a 45 minute wait, for us! If you run the color run and go to a packet pickup party be prepared to wait, I don't know anyone who picked theirs up race day but I imagine it was a disaster, so I advise to go prior to race day! 

On to race day! This was the most disorganized race I have ever ran or attended.  I'm still unclear in where the start line was. I was signed up for the 9:00 am wave and we arrived to the actual color run starting area at 8:40, and they still had not finished setting up.  Upon our arrival they were blowing up and moving the "start" arch. Everyone was herded into a parking lot at Camden Yards and we all hung out waiting for it to start!  They had a stage with two people leading the crowd in warmups and music playing. Other than the two people on the stage we didn't see any color run staffers.  I read on the website or in pre run packets that runners were to line up to the the left and walkers or those with strollers to the right. This did not happen on race day. It was just a giant mob of people. 

I didn't see the race start or hear an announcement that the race was starting, it was 9:15 and I hadn't moved. Charlotte was getting antsy. She hates to be in her jogger and not move anywhere. I would suggest to the color run organization to work on the starting point. Or at least work out a way to make announcements to the crowd that can not see what is happening.  We were told by others that they were letting people go in increments, but we didn't see that happening, and if it was it wasn't organized in any fashion. Another key of disorganization was there was no formal "check in" or anything indicating you were there for the 9:00 am race. We were given pink wrist bands at packet pick up and told only those with wrists bands would be allowed in the starting area and be able to run at 9:00, there was no one checking wrist bands so anyone and everyone could get into the start area, and I heard several ppl mention they were originally signed up for the 2:00 but wanted to go with friends earlier so they just came in. So that kind of sucked. Also of annoyance, everyone was bored of waiting and people started throwing their colors that were for the finish line. 

Sooooo we were supposed to start at 9:00, and here it was 9:40 and no movement, we followed a crowd of people towards the back and saw the race in progress, and were directed into the race, we never went over the start line and I think we missed the first color location, but we finally made it onto the track! 

The run itself was pretty fun! There were tons of people, they were running, jogging, walking, prancing, skipping and having a grand time! The first color we went to was blue.  You go throw an inflatable arch into the color zone, on the sideline of the color zones are several people with squirt bottles who squirt color onto you, the color is reportedly corn starch.  You keep running and go to other color zones.  At the end, you are completely covered in all sorts of colors!

It was super fun on the track! Everyone had funny outfits and there was color everywhere.  I've read other reviews of the color run and a lot of people complain about lack of color, I for one was covered.  Additionally the color squirters were super friendly and careful not to squirt Charlotte! I had the cover down on the stroller for the most part but they were great about not getting her too crazy colored, plus some of the color squirters let me stop and have them put a little bit right on her which made her crack up! 

The great thing about the color run was it was actually truly and honestly for any fitness level. Like I said people walked, pranced, skipped and ran.  People stopped all throughout the course to take pictures. Little kids to older adults participated.  It is not a timed event and the name of the game is FUN...and color, it was absolutely non pressure and people with really young kids or who were tired had easy access to cut the course short. 

The course was easy and flat. It went through the two stadiums and parking lots. That part was disappointing for me; I really like races where I can explore the city from a different viewpoint! I did not use any GPS or anything to track the course, but many people I know did and reported it between 2.6 -2.9 miles, so not a true 5k. This didn't matter to me, it was supposed to be fun, and it was so who cares! 

Overall, it was a little annoying it was so disorganized, and that I never even once saw a color run staffer (or race pictures for that matter!).  If time and distance matter to you, than this is not the race for you. If you want to HAVE FUN than this is the race for you! 

Like I said disorganization was annoying, but 12,500 people were running at 9:00 am so there is only so much you can do! We had a ball for sure and were COVERED in colored! Anyone who says they didn't get color simply didn't take advantage of the race, you could have as much or as little color as you wanted and that was awesome! 

I do recommend this race. To anyone, of any age, any shape, any size! Anyone can finish it and it was a ton of fun! I say go for the atmosphere alone, it's hard to be in a bad mood when covered in color on a nice day outside! 

Be prepared for long lines, lots of waiting, disorganization and don't expect to run a full 5k....but remind yourself: IT'S FOR FUN, and you will have a fantastic day out, lots of fun memories, and color on you for days (literally, it doesn't all come off be warned!!) 

So go, run, and color your life :) 

A wedding weekend!

What a great weekend it was! One of my longtime best friends married the love of her life! It also marked another first for me and Charlotte.  Our first night away from each other in 46 weeks (her whole life haha)

Well Friday straight after work I went straight to good old camp for the wedding festivities.  It was tons of fun helping set up and see the work in progress.  We all slept at camp in cabins just like old times, and then we work up early Saturday to start getting wedding ready!

It was fun to hang out with the girls and get pretty for once.  The bride looked AMAZING.  So so amazing. The groom looked happy, so so happy! And they both looked in love and the wedding was beautiful and everyone seemed to have fun. 

It was hard for me though.  I missed Charlotte terribly.  I have no idea if she missed me or not, but every time I see her she usually grins ear to ear and comes crawling over, so she likes me some I guess lol I know she will never remember spending her first night away from me, but I will remember it.  It was hard being with out her.  I kept waking in the night expecting to hear her, but than remembered she wasn't there.  It was quite sad. Had I not stayed up past midnight, been freezing and sleeping in uncomfortable beds I think I would have tried to take advantage of the time actually gotten some sleep.  I totally forgot what sleeping at camp was like.

I am so happy for my friend!  They both looked so happy and I have they have a lifetime together.  As for me and Charlotte we were happy too and I know we will spend my lifetime together.  It was hard to believe that Emily was once a little girl like this in her moms lap and then here her mom was watching her little girl get married....I don't think Charlotte will ever grow up and not be my little baby, but if she does I hope she finds someone that truly loves her. 

Sunday was a pretty lazy day for us, we cleaned up, hung around the house and enjoyed our day together. I had promised Charlotte a picnic but was too tired and sick to move, so I made lunch and we had a floor picnic in the house which was just as fun! I love and treasure everyday I get to spend with this kiddo :)

 

This was the cutest idea ever! Emily the bride thought of it all herself, amazing! Her dad took this picture with his cellphone and sent it to the groom before the ceremony!

 

Floor Picnic!!!

Bowling!

This weekend brought another first for Charlotte! Her first time bowling, and duckpin bowling at that!

It was another relaxing weekend with my love. We had some fun on Saturday duckpin bowling for my grandmothers birthday. Charlotte was a hit as usual! She was crawling around and clapping every time anyone bowled! It was tons of fun and always great to get the fam together!

Charlotte is growing and changing everyday! She is so big and smart I can hardly believe she used to be my little five pound peanut!

Have you heard of peekaboo barn? Well it's a great app! I know it's terrible to ply your child with iPhone apps, but sometimes I need a few minutes in the mornings to get ready for work so inlet her play a game on my phone. It keeps her occupied so I don't have to worry too much while I'm scrambling lol

Anyway it's a fantastic app!! We have all the peekaboos and I highly recommend them, Charlotte has learned great finger isolation skills! Well this week when the pig came up on the screen she showed me the pig on the phone and then picked the pig out of her barnyard animals and handed it to me with the phone! I was pumped she matched animals! She has been really great at putting things into categories and is aware of what things do and where they go! For example if you hand her her shoe she will try to put it on her foot, or your foot hahah! She constantly surprises me and I always get so excited when I see her understanding her world! Her receptive language is amazing, she can follow simple directions and point to some body parts!

Another big step she is taking is her walking! Boy can she cruise around the house with her shopping cart or her dog stand and walk thing at my moms! She also walks very well when you hold her hands. Today while I was in the kitchen doing my meal prep for the week she stood up on my legs and held on to the back of my jeans and every time I took a step she did too. She walked all over the kitchen like that with me, just holding onto my jeans! Her biggest skill she is developing is she is beginning to stand on her own without holding onto anything! It is so excited to see I scream praise and clap every time and she cracks up, sometimes she doesn't know she is doing it and "falls" over, she usually can catch herself, but gets scared. She is developing her confidence and I imagine she'll be walking soon. She can literally pull herself up on any surface even a flat wall!

Where has my baby gone!?!?