Nora Ruth

Well, for all of those that guessed Baby M #2 would be a girl, give yourself a huge pat on the back.

Miss Nora Ruth was born on October 25 at 2:33 pm, weighing in at 10lbs 10 oz and 22 in long.

Her delivery was a little rough, but more on that later. Here is a picture of us in recovery - the first time I got to see or hold her. Instantly in love.

This past week and a half has been wonderful. I cannot remember what it was like to not have 2 happy, healthy and perfect little girls.

A Mother's Prayer for Her Child

Nada. That is what I have for you right now. So, instead of posting something stupid, I am going to post Tina Fey's prayer for her daughter. Even if you dont have children you will find this amusing.

"A Mother's Prayer for Her Child" by Tina Fey

“First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.

May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.

When the Crystal Meth is offered, may she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half and stick with Beer.

Guide her, protect her when crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.

Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels. What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.

May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.

Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, for childhood is short – a Tiger Flower Blooming Magenta for one day – And adulthood is long, and dry-humping in cars will wait.

O Lord, break the Internet forever, that she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers and the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.

And when she one day turns on me and calls me a bitch in front of Hollister, give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, for I will not have that shit. I will not have it.

And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back. “My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me. And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.

Amen.”
-Tina Fey

Your Baby CANNOT Read...

... Is a load of BS

Have you seen these commercials on TV? Chances are if you have a little one if your house, you have seen the commercial a zillion times on one of the toddler channels.

Basically, it claims that through flash cards and DVD's, babies can learn to read. I had always thought it was a load of BS, but this morning The Today Show aired a little expose about the whole system. They spoke with a variety of experts at some of the leading universities and hospitals and came to the conslusion that it is a false claim.

Link to The Today Show article and video clip

Their experts said that the best way for a baby to learn is through their parents or caregivers - read to them, talk to them, sing with them, play with them -- basic interaction. Not rocket science, just common sense.

So, if you are thinking about purchasing that expensive reading system - DON'T! Save yourself the pennies and make a trip to the park instead.

Can I have your email?

I need your help.

I want some mommy cards/calling cards/correspondence cards, but do not have tons of time to search the web for the fun, sleek and modern cards that I so desperately want.

Since the majority of my day is spent hanging out with this love bug, I need YOU to give me links to your favorite online paper source.

Now, when I pick up other moms in the park I can seem less stalkerish and give them my info on a fun card, vs pulling out my phone to text message myself their email address.

One more thing... I love, love, love, cards like the ones below, but don't want to end up in tears when my big gulp Diet Coke spills on them or they end up in the sticky hands of Miss A. So, we need to keep the $$$ reasonable.

One Little Candle and a Cupcake...

We celebrated Miss A's 1st birthday over the weekend and we all had a wonderful time! I feel like I have been planning this party for months - so to see everything come together was a great feeling.

The day was perfect in every possible way -- great weather, a fun party to celebrate our little one and we were surrounded by our closest friends and family. What more could you ask for?

The inspiration for the party was based on 2 things - bright colors and a tablet of Martha Stewart scrapbook paper I had. The colors were fun and vibrant - perfect for a spring party. The invitations were designed by Rice Designs and I loved them! I emailed her pictures of the paper and she was able to incorporate that into the invitation. She did such a great job - it was playful and fun without being too 'babyish.' As you will see in the rest of the pictures, I was able to use the cupcake with the #1 candle in lots of other ways.

My mom/personal seamstress made this jumper and bib for Miss A. I love it! She wore the dress to church yesterday and I think she needs to wear it to all of her spring birthday parties. The coordinating bib was so Miss A would not be topless in her birthday cake video/pictures. I want her to be able to look at these pictures when she is 16 and not get annoyed with me.

Cupcakes galore! I made batch after batch of vanilla cupcakes with vanilla cream cheese icing. I loved how they turned out. I made little toppers for all of the cupcakes using the polka dot Martha Stewart paper and the cupcake with #1 candle from her invitation. Each cupcake was then topped with little round sprinkles. The small cake on the silver pedestal was her personal smash cake. And boy did she smash it!

For the beverages I made adult pink lemonade and regular lemonade. This picture was taken at the end of the party, but each pitcher had strawberry lemonade ice cubes. I made ice using lemonade with sliced strawberries in each cube. The adult lemonade was spiked with strawberry vodka. We also had bright colored swirly straws for the kids (or adults.)

We also had bottled water, a variety of juice boxes for the kids and birthday beer.

The rest of the food included: animal crackers, gold fish, string cheese, mini muffins, chicken salad, and cucumber yogurt dip. I wanted everything to be kid friendly, plus some good food for the adults -- plus, I did not want to mess with cutlery so everything had to be finger foods. I also did not want anything that required me to cook during the party. What fun is a party when you are constantly in the kitchen making sure the food is not burning?

For the decor, we had lots of birthday banners. The Happy Birthday A banner (against the navy wall) was made using the tablet of Martha Stewart paper and the cupcake from the invitation. I also made a banner with pictures of Miss A from the past year. It was fun to look at the monthly pictures and see how much she has changed. I think these pictures will be fun to keep in her baby book. I also made the bright, hanging pom poms. These were fun and easy to make.... they are actually still hanging up. They are so fun to look at, I hate to throw them away.

I blew up her invitation to 8*10 and had all of the party guests sign it. I think this will also be a fun addition to her baby book.

As much as I love fresh flowers, I also love bringing the outside inside. My parents have a great ornamental pear tree in their backyard, so I used some of those branches for arrangements.

All of the flower pots on the front porch had pink and white flowers in them.... and I threw in some bright orange marigolds in the backyard. I also put some of the cupcake toppers in the flower pots. We had bubbles and sidewalk chalk in the backyard for the kids to play with.

And that was Miss A's first birthday party!

Want to know what she got for her birthday? Or want to see her after eating that smash cake? Head over to Baby M for more pictures... ones that include people!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl!

This has been such a wonderful year... words cannot even express how fantastic she is.

It is hard to believe that just one year ago I was holding her in my arms for the first time.

Parenthood is...

... having your baby get sick in the car - past her bedtime.


... then having to clean out the car seat - outside on the back porch - in the dark - using only the small porch light. ... then going to spray off the car seat, but then having to cut the water hose because there are too many kinks in it and water will not come out.

... then going to wash the car seat cover only to find that you are out of laundry detergent.

... and then going to snuggle with your little girl because she does not feel well.

Sure, it can sometimes be a little hectic, but I would not trade it for anything in the world.

UPDATED ... and then getting that same stomach bug!