Quitting time
*yawn*
It’s been a tiring kind of week around here, and work has gotten in the way of bloggy-blogging.
Now it’s 4:30 on Friday and I JUST NOW FINISHED a crap-ton of freelance work, and — even though I have a lot left to do early next week — I’m calling it quits for the day. No more computers! At least for today! My eyes are blinky and my hands are getting crampy.
I do have a ton of topics I want to cover here, like the fascinating (no, really!) journey of toilet-training D, and how Baby C is sleeping, and all sorts of insight onto being a second-time mom. I’m also working on a much-requested post on how I get both kids to nap at the same time every day (I’m magic?), as well as some photos of the house! I put house photos up here occasionally but I want to do a section where y’all can see more of it. We interwebz people love seeing house photos, don’t we? And they’re darn pinnable, too!
(Speaking of Pinterest, I got Little Sis hooked like maddddddd and now I feel very proud of myself. My apologies to her future law clients someday, because I’m sure this is having a profound effect on her studies.)
So in place of one of the awesome posts I’m writing in my head (where nobody can see it — yet!) let me leave you with these lovely photos of D’s recent nap-time escapades. Nobody destroys a bedroom like a two-year-old who doesn’t want to nap, let me tell you!
xoxo
Easy sewing project: toddler dress from Daddy’s uniform shirt
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Darling Husband wears a uniform to his job (which may be able to tell by the logo, is with this company). So when D was a baby, I added a little logo to one of his navy onesies to make a baby-sized version of Daddy’s uniform. It was a huge hit, and he wore it to the airport for many visits.
When our daughter, C, came along, I knew she’d need her very own mini-version of Daddy’s uniform. So I took D’s old onesie and decided to turn it into a dress — complete with matching headband!
It was a really easy project, so I hope it inspires some readers to make mini-uniforms! It would also be a cute way to reuse one of Daddy’s old sports T-shirts or jerseys.
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| Here’s where I started — one 6-12 month onesie (already appliqued with the logo) and one of Darling Husband’s old uniform shirts |
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| I cut a rough rectangle (who measures? Not me!) and some long strips that I considered turning into ruffles, and then decided I didn’t feel that ambitious on this particular day. |
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| I turned the two big rectangles inside-out, and pinned the sides together |
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| Then I sewed along the sides only, and turned it back right-side-out |
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| I turned the bottom underneath a few times (to hide the raw raggedy edge), pinned it, and cut a piece of red ribbon for trim |
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| Then I sewed the red ribbon along the edge as I hemmed it — that’s what I called two-for-the-price-of-one seam-sewing! |
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| Here we have a skirt that’s sewn on the sides, hemmed and trimmed on the bottom, and craptastically wonky (and undone) on the top). |
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| I used a needle and thread to run one lonnnnng line of stitches along the top of the skirt, and then tugged the waistband until it was the right size to “match up” with the waist-size of the onesie |
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| I cut the bottom off the onesie, turned it inside out, turned the skirt inside out, and then sewed them together |
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| It looks like the onesie isn’t there, because it’s inside the skirt, because it’s all inside-out, and SEWING CAN BE SO CONFUSING SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW? |
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| Then I grabbed one of the T-shirt scraps (that I didn’t use for a ruffle because, really, who has the time?), folded it into a tube, sewed around the edges, and stuck a little piece of elastic in the ends — Tada! Headband! |
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| A sweet little dress and headband for C, made from Daddy’s uniform! |
Sewing skirts onto onesies is certainly nothing earth-shattering, but this was a fun, rewarding project — especially since now I get to take adorable Daddy/Daughter photos of them in their matching uniforms!
Happy sewing!
xoxo
The mysterious case of the little boy underwear
I’m really tired today, so here is a ramble on underwear. I hope it makes sense!
One of the best things about having a little boy, I’ve always thought, is buying little-boy underwear.
It’s SO CUTE! Even cuter than little-girl underwear. I don’t know what it is about it, but I’ve always felt this way. Maybe it’s those colour-ribby line things that run down the front? I really like those.
Or maybe it’s just that I’m a girl, and I grew up in an all-girl household, so I never got to see these awesome things in person. Ever! (Darling Husband’s a boxer-briefs man)
We started potty-training D this summer — lonnnnng post coming up on that — and I was ridiculously excited to buy him his first pack of undies. We got a three-pack of Elmo ones (Size 2), because I let him choose, and he was in a huge Elmo phase (that’s an “Elmo” phase, not an “Emo” phase — that’ll come later, I’m sure).
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| Baby’s first undies! |
At first, we just had these three pairs. But once we started getting more seriously into Potty Mode, we needed to buy more. So I decided to buy Size 3 undies since the Size 2s were getting a little small. I grabbed a pack of Diego undies at Walmart, and a pack of Mickey Mouse (his latest obsession) at Toys ‘R’ Us.
The Size 3s are still too big on him, which is fine. Understandable, even, considering the Size 2s still technically fit him. See?
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| Yup, everything looks pretty normal here … |
But! Are you ready to behold the mystery of the Teeny Tiny Underpants? … Check this out!
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| What gives, Mickey Mouse??? |
The Mickey Mouse Size 3s are INSANELY TINY! They are much tighter on D than the Size 2s, and they almost fit like girl underwear — very, uh, fitted? And snug? With no crotch access flap thing?
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| OMG THE HUMANITY! |
I’m not sure what happened. The package of Mickey Mouse undies definitely says “Size 3,” and I am pretty sure it’s boy underwear, but who knows? WHO KNOWS?
All I know is this:
- It’s hilariously small on D
- He can’t wear it
- I refuse to even TRY to return undies
- It’s being packed up for Baby C to wear someday
- It might even be girls’ underwear anyway!
And thus concludes the mystery of the Very Tiny and Possibly Girls’ Underwear. Thanks for joining us, and Happy Weekend to all!
xoxo
Workin’ for the … weekend? No, sorry, we don’t get those!
What day is it today? No, really? I went through *all* of yesterday being completely convinced it was Tuesday, and I think that happened because Tuesday was so busy that it melted into the real Wednesday.
Things are busy on the freelance front this week. That’s a good thing (financially), and kind of a rough thing (parent-y wise).
A couple of readers have asked how I work from home (and how often), so I thought this would be a good time to clear up some of those questions!
In our house lately, there are two kinds of days:
- Days where Daddy works, and I work a little
- Days where Daddy is off, and I work more
Not unlike most households, of course, but because Darling Husband works shift-work (and a modified work-week at that), he doesn’t have a traditional schedule. He isn’t necessarily off on weekends or holidays — it’s all a matter of how their rotation goes — and he is actually in a “relief” position, which means he works whenever The Bosses need him to work.
(I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a husband with a Monday-Friday, 9-5 schedule, and I can’t even picture it. It must be nice, though? Maybe?)
I used to work a 9-5, Monday-Friday office job — you know, back a million years ago almost three years ago when I wore skirts and tights and bracelets and stuff. It’s almost hard to remember, it’s been so long.
But ever since D was three months old, I’ve been working from home as a freelance writer/editor. I used to just work during his nap-times, and occasionally after he went to bed at night. Fast-forward almost three years later, and now I work … more. A lot more, sometimes.
So where does it all fit in? Well, here’s a quickie breakdown of our two “types” of days, and where I might work during them:
Sample day #1 (Darling Husband works):
- 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. The kids and wake up, get dressed, change diapers brush teeth, etc.
- 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Breakfast & clean-up
- 9:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. Playtime
- 10 a.m. Baby C goes for her nap, D gets quality “big-boy” playtime with Mommy
- 10:30 a.m. Darling Husband gets home from work, goes to bed
- 11 a.m. Baby C wakes up, we all play
- 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. Lunch & clean-up
- 1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Getting both kids settled for naptime
- 1:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Mommy zooms down to the office and works!
- 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. Kids are up from their naps, we play, make dinner, etc.
- 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. Dinner & clean-up (Darling Husband gets up around now)
- 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. Playtime (or running out for groceries, etc.)
- 7 p.m. Cereal for both kids (Cheerios for one, oatmeal for the other)
- 7:30 p.m. Bathtime for both kids (or playing, if it’s not a bath night)
- 8 p.m. Teeth-brushing/jammies/prayers/stories
- 8:15 p.m. D is tucked into bed, and I nurse C and put her to bed
- 8:30 p.m. Parental freedom! Darling Husband goes back to sleep for a few hours, I get a precious two hours to myself (tasks include TV-watching, reading, hair-curling, nail-painting)
- 10:30 p.m. Darling Husband leaves for work, I go to bed!
Total hours of work: Usually 2.5
Sample day #2 (Darling Husband is off):
- 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. We all wake up, get dressed, change diapers brush teeth, etc.
- 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Breakfast & clean-up
- 9:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. Playtime
- 10 a.m. I put Baby C down for her nap, and head down to my office
- 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. D gets quality “big-boy” playtime with Daddy
- 11 a.m. Baby C wakes up, plays with Daddy and D
- 12 p.m. I come upstairs and help with lunch & clean-up
- 1 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. We get both kids settled for naptime
- 1:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Mommy zooms down to the office for more work!
- 4 p.m. – 5 p.m. Kids are up from their naps, they play with Darling Husband
- 5 p.m. Quitting time for Mommy
- 5 p.m. – 6 p.m. Dinner & clean-up
- 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. Playtime (or running out for groceries, etc.)
- 7 p.m. Cereal for both kids (Cheerios for one, oatmeal for the other)
- 7:30 p.m. Bathtime for both kids (or playing, if it’s not a bath night)
- 8 p.m. Teeth-brushing/jammies/prayers/stories
- 8:15 p.m. D is tucked into bed, and I nurse C and put her to bed
- 8:30 p.m. Parental freedom! Darling Husband and I get to spend two hours together! We play cards a lot, or watch TV or a movie, or sometimes play a game on the Wii (we go through Mario phases)
- 10:30 p.m. I go to bed, Darling Husband gets a few precious hours to himself (he watches movies I don’t like, watches scary TV shows, plays PS3 games, watches music videos on YouTube, etc.)
Total hours of work: Usually 5.5
So that’s basically our routine right now, as long as Darling Husband works this particular shift. He’s worked a lot of different combinations, and we just find a way to fit my work in around it. I’ve managed to build up a solid list of clients, and I’m proud of the work I do (in the small windows of time available, with a two-year-old and an eight-month-old).
Not every day is the same. On Saturdays and Sundays, I try not to work, but I often end up only getting one of the days “off” — which means when the kids nap, I get two hours of ME TIME! There are some days I don’t work in the mornings (and we all go out somewhere instead, or I take the kids to a playdate or playgroup). But there are also some days when I work lonnnnnng into the evening, too.
That’s the thing about freelance work — you never really know when assignments will come in, and how long you’ll have to work on them. And because I’m super Type-A/over-achieve-y and HATE disappointing authority figures (clients), I sometimes take on too much, and then stress out trying to get it all done on time.
I’m always interested to hear how other moms work from home, because there aren’t too many of us. It’s hard sometimes, because people don’t always think of you as a “working mom” (but you are), and yet you don’t get the respect that a full-time, out-of-the-house working mom gets, because they think of you as a “stay-at-home mom.”
“Work-at-home mom” is the new pink, right? Right? Where else can you work in leggings and a sweater, juggle a baby monitor and a headset, and take breaks to flip the laundry from the washer to the dryer? I even get to use the executive washroom!
xoxo
This day …
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Began a full hour before I even got to sleep (which was 1 a.m.) because the baby had been crying and whining since 11 p.m.
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Continued on a rough path when D cried out at 3 a.m.
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Felt impossible when the baby was up again at 4:30 p.m.
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Had already completed exhausted me when she cried from 7 a.m. on
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Got even more overwhelming when a snowstorm kept Darling Husband from arriving home from work on time this morning
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Continued to get more hectic when everyone in the world decided to return my (really important) work calls, all within a 30-minute period (in which I was alone with the kids, and not exactly in my quiet office)
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Makes me (almost) wish I was escaping to a real office where I could work in peace for the full day
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Meant I didn’t get to take the kids to our weekly playgroup
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Brought on disappointment that we couldn’t all go out and see our friends
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Meant that the baby was incredibly cranky and didn’t nap
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Is really tiring
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Is
kind ofREALLY chaotic -
Is making my throat tighten up
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Has given me a headache
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Has many more hours of writing/editing left in it
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Is hard, but I’m trying to stay focused on what matters
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Is still a good day
This day …
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| Photo credit |
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