Deep breath in.......and out.........

Whew. It's over.

Today Maizey was such a diva. I can't help but laugh. She is so high maintenance it's funny. If only you could've seen me trying to put mascara on this morning; it's like a circus act. She is non-stop, and by non-stop I mean non-stop. The only time there is peace is when she is sleeping, she's lovely then. I went to the mall today to get a break. Yes, I took Maizey and went to the mall so that I could relax. It's funny because that used to be the opposite of what I would do with her. But, now she needs constant entertainment. I was watching videos of my younger baby and I think that 4-6 months was the perfect combo of personality and ease. She had enough personality that she was really fun, but she was still really easy to manage. I remember thinking how she was so fun and I felt so lucky that she was so bubbly. Oh, what I would give for a quiet, introspective baby. But she's my crazy Maizey and I love her.

Yesterday we went to Gymboree. I took her once before when she was like 3 months old and it was no big deal. But, I figured now that she is older it might be more interesting for her. And, it was! She loved it, she crawled all over everything--and everyone. She practiced walking on this cool ball they had, she laughed, and even learned to clap (we'd been practicing for a while and then something just clicked). What I learned about Maizey is something I pretty much already knew, she knows NO stranger anxiety whatsoever! There were 3 other moms there, and while we were under the parachute, or singing songs, or whatever, she just crawled right up to them and climbed up to them. She was pulling one lady's hair, and she even sat on another lady's lap. It was hysterical, and slightly awkward. The ladies were really great with her, but I know they wanted to play with their own children, but then I didn't want to seem like it weirded me out by pulling her away. Oh, my girl is crazy.

Here are a couple of pics. Tahtah.

All dressed up for the mall. Diva? Who me?

The girl is a waving machine these days.

Lately, this is a face we see often. Poor baby.

Tip to mothers: ice in one of these mesh bags is a lifesaver! It's wet, but worth it.

Just when you think she's miserable she breaks out with this. Clap on...

Clap off! The clapper!

Private

Okay. I'm going private. Sorry to my friends and family for changing this blog from a happy, family place to a place of judgement and idiocracy.

There was one guy in particular, a guy with a major superiority complex, who linked to my blog from his and ridiculed me at length for my feelings about Obama. I'm not going to mention his blog here because I know that he wants the exposure, well you're not going to get it.

OMG, I'm so ready for this to be over.

Disappointed in Humanity

Hey there. So, yes, as my title states, I'm disappointed in humanity--not hugely disappointed, just slightly. It's akin to a teacher leaving her classroom for a moment, only to return and find that all hell has broken loose. I'm sure she could've anticipated the outcome, but it's disappointing nonetheless.

Mostly, being a Blog of Note has been really fun. I love hearing from all different people and from all over the world. It seems no matter who, or where, you are there are some universal commonalities when it comes to raising children and having hope in new leadership.

Then, there are the others. The reasons I feel disappointed. My blog was never intended to be a political forum, I just had an overwhelming moment of gratitude for President Obama yesterday and I wanted to express it. I don't care if you disagree, I don't care if you think I'm an "F-ing liberal" as one person put it. Don't read my blog. And, most certainly, if you're here to post a link to your pornographic blog-LEAVE. I'm not sure how anyone can think it's appropriate to come to my family blog and post porn links, I'm sickened by it. But it's also not a place to come and be hateful.

I thought for a few hours this morning on what to do about this. I wanted to go private, but I think it's important for mothers to have a place to go to see that this is everyone's struggle, and parenting is just hard. For everyone. So, in lieu of that, I came up with what I feel is a good compromise. Comments have to be approved before posting. I don't like having to police my blog, so hopefully this will save me from that.

My little nina is working on her 3rd hour of napping, laying beside me with bright, red cheeks. My family is sacred and I will protect it at all costs. It's not that I'm ungrateful, just protective.

To everyone else, thanks for the car advice, the Volvo it is. Thanks for the parenting support, and thanks for having faith that there is hope for our country. You're fabulous.

Barack Obama, you're my hero.

His first full day in office and he closes Guantanamo Bay Prison. Something tells me we're into something good.

BTW, if you google Barack Obama, the 3rd most common search is for his birth certificate?? Really?

Cannot be Contained

Holy Schmegaygee! I think I have said (more than once) "it's not that hard being a parent, I don't know what all the fuss is about." And, I'm sure that comment was offensive to many people. But, let me assure you--I officially know what all the fuss is about. Before, it was never that Maizey was hard, it's that I was lazy and scattered. Now, it's her. Well, it's a combo of her being crazy and me being lazy. Okay, if you are a parent to a child who isn't yet mobile, look away. Here I go: crawling changed my life, it took something joyous and turned it into something joyous/chaotic. Now, to add insult to injury, Maizey is getting all 4 of her top teeth at once. She doesn't sleep, she doesn't sit still, and she screams if you try to contain her. Wanna take a shower? Yeah right. I can't leave her while I shower because her naps are so unpredictable lately and she won't sleep in her crib for more than 20 mins, so I have to leave her on the bed. I have a video monitor that I can watch, but let me tell you from experience, watching her wake up while you are lathered in the shower and having to bolt out soapy and wet sucks. I used to take her little bathtub into the shower with me and she'd peacefully hang out in her tub while I hygienated (I doubt this is a word), she even sometimes fell asleep in her bathtub (I know that is a crazy combo of bizarre and dangerous, but it worked). Now, if I take her in the shower with me she climbs out of her tub, and if I just let her sit on the floor of the shower she is OBSESSED with licking/chewing the shower curtain, which is disgusting on an infinite number of levels.

Today was the melting point for me. She nevers goes to sleep without serious drama--and this morning was about to be drama free. Today, after a leaky diaper (which NEVER happens when she is wearing a cloth diaper, but she was in a disposable this morning) a morning shower was necessary because last nights' dinner was smooshed all up her back. So we took a shower, had her 3rd outfit change, a bottle, and she was asleep--EASY! Well, she was asleep for a minute. Approximately one minute after she drifted off, someone came to the door, and my a-hole dog went berserk. She woke up and then I went crazy! I was so mad I was kicking the air around Porter, then he moved and I actually, accidentally, kicked him. I went from mad to devastated. I felt so bad for kicking my poor, cancer-ridden, loyal and protective dog. It was an accident, but it was such an example of the state of meltdown I am living in. School is totally kicking my ass, the baby doesn't sleep (but does scream), and changing the kitty litter was my top priority for the last 2 days (but I didn't get it done until today), and Ryan is getting dressed out of the laundry basket--at least it's clean laundry.

Okay, now that you all think I am an abusive animal owner, let me assure you, I am staying positive (with the help of a pep talk from Ryan). My baby is the cutest/silliest thing in the world, I have the most supportive family, and I'm going to be getting my dream car in the not-too-distant future (yes, the Volvo won out for a long list of reasons that I will get to in another post). This part of parenthood is really hard, but really rewarding. She can stand on her own for like 10-15 seconds at a time, and she balances herself with her arms like she is on a surf board, all with this giant, proud grin. It makes all of it worthwhile.

Oh, she weighed in at 17.5lbs and 28.5inches at her doc's visit last week. She's 10inches longer than she was when she was born. She's really growing up!

I don't really have any new photos to post. Here are a few and a video of her enjoying her Xmas gift from her great grammy (I can't get the video to post, but I will try again later).

This is a picture I took of Maizey while I was pondering how to remove a poop-soaked onesie. Onesies go over the head, and there was a lot of prep to be sure that Maize didn't end up with excrement in her hair.

I may have posted these photos already, I can't remember. Anyway, I thought that they were so cute it wouldn't matter. Ryan with Maizey and Jack at Jessica's Christmas party.

This was pre-crawling. She crawled the next day.

Oh, as you may see, the title of my blog changed again. As Good as it Gets is one of my favorite movies, and the quote is from the movie. I've always loved that quote and I say it all the time, that movie packed full of great one-liners.

Okay, I got it finally! She loves this car and it's

exhausting!

Superficial Dilemma

We are looking at new vehicles for me. We need something with more space. I'm torn between a Toyota Highlander and my dream vehicle, are you ready? a Volvo XC90. Both are ridiculously affordable (when purchased used), due to our current market situation. It seems easy--you choose the dream vehicle, but it's not that easy. I am a mom now and I have to be responsible. The Highlander is rated much higher for reliability and the Volvo is rated much higher for safety--though the Highlander does okay in this category. The Volvo is beautiful and sporty and has a better layout, but the Highlander is a Toyota, nuff said. Look at the photos below and give me your feedback. The little voice in my head keeps saying "what good is a safe car if it doesn't start?" Then the littler voice says "shut-up the Volvo is better and you've wanted it since the moment you laid eyes on it."

The Highlander

The Highlander interior. The one we purchase won't have a nav system. I am a navigation system.The Volvo XC90. Purr....

The Vovlo interior. Very European looking, aka very early 90s and boxy, but I love it.
OPINIONS?

Title change

Hey friends and family and whomever else may have stumbled upon this blog. I got an email from my friend at Google yesterday, she told me she'd like to make my blog a "Blog of Note," which is cool, but not a big deal. Anyway, my mom has been on my case lately about putting too much private information on my blog, and now with this development it is time to change the title of my blog--for obvious reasons. The temporary title--the Maizey Diaries, is okay but not edgy, or whimsical, or ironic, or anything aside from obvious. I will be working on coming up with something that is one (or all) of those things, but if you have any suggestions I will gladly accept them.
On a side note, my mom being all worried about private info on the web prompted me to do a search on myself. I found my address, my relatives' addresses, all the cities I've lived in, and perhaps the weirdest/scariest is the street photos of my house. Literally photos of the front of my house--not the aerial photos that have been available for a long time. I guess in this day and age you just hope that the boogeyman doesn't have internet access.