Wordless Wednesday: Snoop Prepares for Baby

I think he's going to be a great big brother! What do you think?

Updates on the trip and more coming soon!

Also, check out my "Wifey Wisdom" over here.

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Shabby Apple Anchor's Away Dress Giveaway winner according to random.org:
#580: Bonnie Congrats Please email me your address (babymakingmachine{at}gmail{dot}com) so I can get it to you!

The Staring Babies

It's like they're plotting against me. They're cute, oh yea, adorably cute... But their always staring at me!

I check my reflection.. Maybe there's something on my face--Wait, they wouldn't know the difference!

I've noticed this since I was a teenager. I'll pass a baby by at church or at a store, and they're always watching... Their eyes are saying "Hey lady, pay attention... I've got somethin' to tell ya!" But they never tell me what it is.

At church sometimes it's like they're yelling to get my attention.

I told my husband when we got married that all babies like me. That's how it seems... No joke. Maybe that's why I was so good at handling a class of infants at 17. Or a quite obedient class of six one-year-olds. Or worse... 20 two-year-olds with only the help of a lone assistant. I've changed more diapers in my short life than plenty of new moms (20 diapers every 2 hours adds up). But most of the time I've felt a natural connection to these wide-eyed wonders.

And it's not just the tiny ones, it feels the same way with young kids. I'm not sure what it is, but I just love the cute admirable look they sometimes give me. It'll often give me chills and it always makes me smile.

I can only imagine how those sweet looks will make me feel when it's my own little "mini us" smiling back at me.

The Projectile Vomit- Plus Giveaway!

I love kids, I really do. And I love babysitting my friend's kids, which is one reason I did this a few months back. My husband and I were deemed worthy to watch an adorable little 4-month-old baby boy twice a week. It's fun pretending he's our for eight hours a week and watching his little eyes light up while we act silly trying to entertain him. The only bad thing about this adorable baby is the fact that he's so good. He hardly veer cries, and he'll usually fall right asleep after eating dinner. His parents tell us he usually sleeps through the night after that--Sometimes up to 12 hours. This little guy is basically setting us up with high expectations and we're pretty much doomed for failure with our own.

Recently though, I did have an eye-opening experience with my little friend... A personal peek in the trenches of motherhood.

Hubby just had his wisdom teeth taken out and it would be my first time watching baby alone. I arrived early because I was bored at home without my husband. I took baby from his mom as we talked and she got ready to leave for work. I was bouncing and patting him, and talking about my future baby when he heard me... And must have been disgusted because he then proceeded to throw up all over my arm and shirt.

His mom and I laughed because it was a funny little reaction to our conversation. I don't think he wanted to hear about other babies right then. We cleaned me and him up, and his mom kissed him goodbye.

The next couple of hours were fun as usual, I put him in his new jumper and watched as he bounced and laugh at the sounds and my faces. When he got tired of it I pulled him out and we watched a little TV. When he started trying to suck on my finger, and got a little fussy I knew it was about time for dinner. I made him a bottle and sat down to feed him.

He didn't seem to eat much faster than normal. It was maybe a little quicker but I figured he must have been really hungry. He finished the whole 8oz without a break!

He looked tired at the end of the bottle, I was noticing him starting to doze off a little, but I didn't want him to fall asleep before I got a chance to burp him. I put the little burp cloth across my shoulder, sat him up on top of it and began to pat. After patting for a couple of minutes and not really getting much gas out of him I began to pat slightly harder. Nothing but a tiny burp came out... Which is nothing compared to what he normally does, so I kept burping, waiting for the loud *BURP*. Just a moment later he started to burp, I turned me head to see how much spit-up came out with it, and it was still coming... A LOT---Projectile vomit.

I jumped up as I began to see it spewing from his mouth. I couldn't move quick enough. I jumped up, felt it gush down my back, all over the couch, and parts of the carpet as we ran to the kitchen, the dog even became a victim of the vomit. Sadly the first thing that crossed my mind was 'I hope it didn't get in my hair!' I had just gotten my hair straightened and was so worried about having to get it washed and pressed all over again.

I picked baby up off my shoulder and checked to make sure he was ok... he smiled at me. I guess he felt better now.

I grabbed the burp cloth to wipe what I could off of myself and baby but it was dripping with puke. 'That did a lot of good' I thought. 'Why don't they make burp cloths bigger? In fact, why not make a Burp Snuggy?'

I examined the couch, the floor and the dog to see how they were doing. The couch... Well it looked beyond repair to me, and honestly I wish I would have taken a picture of the damage. I couldn't understand how that much milk could come out of something so small.. Where did he put it all, and is he hungry again?

The carpet wasn't so bad, and the dog... Well I just had to keep her away from re-eating what was lost. Besides the couch I think I suffered the most damage. I could still feel that which was regurgitated running down my legs.

I decided I'd bounce--No, rock him to sleep then clean up what I could. I had him in one arm, my iPhone in the other, and I Tweeted away to get help.

"OMG. Baby just projectile vomited all over me, couch, carpet and dog! Did I feed him too much? Burp him to hard? HELP!" Was my cry on Twitter.

Flood of response came in. To my surprise most of them said things like "Oh they just do that..." or "Welcome to mommyhood!" ...Great. Encouraging.

"Is he hungry again?" I asked the world... And got a lot of helpful advice from Twitter moms.

He didn't seem hungry, in fact after getting changed and laughing at my new upchuck-covered attire, he fell right asleep. I texted his mom to let her know what happened and that he was ok.

After cleaning the couch, and the carpet and making sure the dog was ok I had to laugh at it all. I've worked in daycare, and have several younger siblings... I even called my mom and told her about it all, and reminisced about all of the times my younger sisters threw-up all over me. I've had my share of baby-vomit experiences, but this one had to be one of the funniest. And somehow, I get the inkling this is only the beginning.

****Yay Giveaway!****

My good blog friend Mommy Bee read this post, and I guess she felt a little bad for me, and all the other women who experience projectile vomit and burp cloths that are just too dang small!

Well she makes some cute stuff in her Etsy shop, and one of those things is these adorable, super-strength, puke absorbent, burp cloths! There are three flannel burp cloths:A. One is a 2-layer burp cloth (crayons print/white back)
B. 'Super Spitter' with the layer of terrycloth inside (crayons/blue)
C. 'Super Spitter' (sports/blue)
All are nice and big (8" x 16"), and should be able to handle whatever your little one can dish out! Man, do I wish I had one of those last week!

Want one for your super spitter? Well here's what you've gotta do to win! Leave a comment here telling me if you'd prefer A, B, or C. if you won! That's all! She's moving right now but don't forget to check out her Etsy shop Lil Bees, which has all sorts of things from adorable cloth diapers to wet bags, to (crunchy/green ladies listen up)...cloth pads!!

You get extra entries if you comment letting me know:
-You follow my blog
-You have my blog button (now two entries)
-You subscribe to my blog
-You favor my blog on Technorati
-You Tweet/ Facebook about this contest
-You post about this contest (now two entries)
-Vote for my blog in the 2009 Bloggers Choice Awards (worth 3 entries!)

Good Luck! I'll use random.org to choose 3 winners! Contest ends midnight May 31st!

The First Grandchild

Ok can I be a little honest about my selfishness right now? ...Never stopped me before.

Alright, well one thing I think about a lot when it comes to having kids is timing. But this isn't always in regards to how old I am and how ready am... That's a given. The timing I'm talking about is in regards to when I have kids in relation to my (/our) siblings.

My husband and I are both the oldest children and we were the first to get married out of our siblings and we could be the first to have kids (aka grandkids). Sometimes (actually most times) I think that I want to be the first to have grandkids for our parents (aka grandparents).

There are many reasons for this. For one... I think the first always has a special place in grandparents' hearts. I know I was the favorite (or did they just tell that to each of their grandkids?) and while it's not always fun to be the oldest child, being the oldest grandchild is kind of cool. They are the first part of the next generation of posterity. I mean common, the sacrifice was always the "first born" no one asked for the second or third! The oldest = coolest ok?! (Can you tell I'm the oldest child?) And while I think the oldest CHILD has it hard (babysitting, way stricter rules, no cell phone, allowance, curfew, and all those other things the younger siblings get away with, etc.), the oldest grandchild... Well, they pretty much have a sweet gig.

I however, do think that my expectations of having the coveted "first grandchild" could be a little overrated since we don't live close to either of our families. Therefore our kids won't be in close pampering proximity and even if they are the oldest, the others, who live closer could have a better opportunity to see the grandparents and get spoiled rotten.

Now on the other hand, if we didn't have kids first, I could get first hand, down right honest reaction on the whole parenting scheme straight from the trenches. It would be like an up-close, behind the scenes, exclusive interviews, uncut version of parenting. I'd witness how my siblings/ siblings-in-law handle it, and see how the grandparents react... Then learn what to do and no to do. Guinea pigs I guess you could call them.

Either way, the decision is completely selfish and could be beneficial one way or another. Now I just have to figure out which one is MORE beneficial. *evil laugh*

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Nightly Notion
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I babysat for a couple of hours this afternoon... The girls are cute and great but the parents parenting style I think is quite different than mine will be. I will not be a type-A mom. I will not be a type-A mom. More on this topic to come!

The Replacement-- Not quite

It took me three years to convince my husband that we should get a dog. I knew they take a lot of patients and practice. My family went through a dozen dogs growing up, none of them ever even made it to being house broken, so I was nervous about it, but when the time was right (last Valentines) we adopted Snoop from a local shelter.

When new moms at work or church talk about little things and experiences with their new baby I can't help but chime in with "Yea, I know! With my puppy..." And I usually get the same strange look in response. I don't mean to compare my love for my dog with their love for their child because believe me... I know there's a difference. But in my eyes, there are a lot of similarities.

I did come across a blog a week or so ago (the name slips my mind, if it was you let me know and I'll insert link here) about a woman who said she couldn't believe how some people have dogs instead of children. She had a cute picture of the comparison between a dog and her cute baby. Her baby was way cuter than the dog pictured but that's not always the case.Take this for example:

I thought my husband and I would be good candidates for having a cute baby but ever since trying the computerized analalysis and seeing we have a possibility of our baby looking like this:And I've changed my mind. Umm, totally white? Lopsided cheeks? If that's the case I do think my dog here:is cuter. I love Snoop, but he's not my replacement child. He will always have a special place in my heart, even after human spawn.

However, I have been thinking lately of how my dog is great practice for a child. Here are a few things I've thought of:

1. Building maternal instincts: When he wakes up in the middle of the night I jump up... It's become an instinct. He usually has to either go outside to go potty, or rush outside to puke (after sneaking some snaks).

2. Getting mom smart: I've learned to learn. I've been reading a lot of "parenting" books about raising a dog, how to be a "pack leader" and really trying to follow through.

3. Mommy talk good and bad: It's easy to let your children walk all over you. Same with my dog. Even I have a hard time holding my ground when he gives me his sad puppy eyes, and he knows when I mean business. I turn on my "serious mom" voice and he obeys. I also have my cute googoo mommy voice for when he's being all cute and cuddly. Oh, and I'm beginning to use mom phrases like: "Yea I can see you, I have eyes in the back of my head."

4. Selflessness: I know a lot of you may be chuckling at this right now but really... Baby steps ok? I use to hate to exercise but since getting Snoop and learning daily walks are crutial I've sacrificed sleep for his fitness.

5. Poop? Who cares?!: I'm use to gross things. Puke, poop, diarreah. I'm acustomed to it all now. And I don't know for sure but I'm guessing human stuff isn't as gross, and I know dog farts smell WAY worse.

6. Teaching skills: Just like I want to teach my kids... My dog knows good manners. No jumping on people, sitting before he's pet, that kind of stuff.

7. Homemaking: I learned how to sew just so I cold make him dog collars and matching leashes. This is kind of in the spoiling category but I think I'll be one of those people who wants to dress my baby in something different EVERY time we're out. I imagine that because I refuse to let my dog wear the same collar to Petsmart twice in a row... Usually he won't wear a duplicate for at least a month, and his collar and leash HAVE to match. And sometimes I'll wear a bandanna that matches his.

8. Healthcare: I take him to the veternarian regularly and stay very in-tune with his health needs.

9. Selective listening: I read a lot of blogs about women who lock themselves in the room away from their kids while the blog... Yea, I do that with my dog.

10. Patients: Lots of carpet shampoo, ripped jeans, chewed up shoes, 5 new sets of blinds, 2 training classes, lots of practice and a bark collar later, I've learned a lot of patients, and boy if you stick with it it pays off!

Sure, you can't throw a kid in the backyard all day, or leave them at home alone, but if you ask me, it's still good practice, and baby steps in the right direction.

The First Babysitting Adventure

A friend at work finally took me up on my babysitting offer. It was a last minute thing but I didn't mind. His daughter is 2 and one of the cutest little things around. He and his wife got tickets to a concert that day and if I wasn't available they wouldn't have been able to go. I of course said I would and invited my husband along.

It was a Friday night... We usually don't do much on Friday nights so we rented a red box and arrived at their house around 9:30.

J was ADORABLE! She wanted to show us all of her toys, color with her, watch different Disney movies, sing and read. We played the Fisher Price basketball hoop with her and she's laugh and cheer every time of of us made a shot. My husband even helped her score a few dunks. It was really cute to say the least.

She had this one toy (I'm sure you mom's know what I'm talking about) it's like a modern day etch a sketch. She had a ball taking turns drawing each other's hands.

We definitely started to get tired before she did though, so it was funny when we'd ask "do you want to go to bed?" And she's shake her head back and forth feverishly as if we just asked her if she wanted to jump out of a plane. No way was she ready for bed yet! We thought her reaction was so funny we made a game of it. We'd keep asking "Are you ready for bed?" "Are you tired?" "Are you sleepy?" "Want to go to bed?" And she'd just keep shaking her head and playing, we couldn't stop laughing it was so funny!... Mind you this is all after 10 o'clock. Her mom told us she didn't have a nap that day so I kept expecting her to crash at any moment but it just didn't happen.

Finally, a little after 11 I remembered her mom saying something about her sleeping with her sippy cup, so I got it out of the fridge, set it on the table in front of her and within minutes she was out cold.

The rest of the night was easy, we watched a movie and talked about what good parent's we'll be.

I talked to my J's dad at work a couple of days ago. He told me J asked about me the other night. "Where's my Jennifer?" She asked him. That made my heart melt.

The Baby Sibling

Being the oldest of five children has it's ups and downs. Growing up the phrase "take your sister with you" was the last thing I wanted to hear, but now I have the cutest 3-year-old sister that just melts my heart!

My other siblings are cute too... Heather, 19; Michael, 14; and Lauren 11. I can't help but talk to the youngest three like they're all 3-years-old. Michael frequently asks me "why do you talk to me like I'm a baby?" I can't help it! They're all cuter once I'm out of the house, married and have a family of my own. The old phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder" rings true in my case.

Kimberly, the youngest I know the least. I was married before she was born. Our first few encounters she was almost scared of me. She didn't want me to hold her, come near her, hardly look at her! It took a couple of years for her to really warm up to me and now... I'm her favorite :o)

I was on the computer the other day chatting with my family through the voice monitor when out of nowhere I hear Kimmie say "I wan go wit Jenn Jenn." I wanted to cry! Not only that but when Heather was jokingly calling me dumb or something like that, Kimberly jumped in and said "No, be nice. Be nice to Jenn Jenn" then "Mine... My Jenn Jenn."

I don't get to see my family as much as I'd like but when my siblings come visit my dad in Dallas this summer I'm hoping I can steal my little sister for a few days and get some practice watching a little one 24/7... Wonder how that'll go.

The Stresses

I was watching Snoop Dogg's "Father Hood" show and was really impressed with their parenting. Ok, I know it's television, but have you seen that show lately?

The mom (Shante) said a really good quote that I want to remember: "Once you become a mother you never stop worrying." Wow! I think my mom could agree with that... What about some of you moms?

Lately my dog Snoop has been getting into fights and lately I am ALWAYS worrying about him. I'm going on a vacation in a few weeks and I'm worried about where he'll stay while we're gone. If I'm stressing out and worrying about my DOG this much I can't IMAGINE how I'll be with a child.

I can't imagine worrying about much more than I do now and still being a sane person. Seriously... I think I'm already developing an ulcer. If I add much more my worries will burn an acidic hole through my stomach.

I'm worried about my career, where I'll be living a year from now, heck... where I may be living two months from now. Will my '96 Corolla last another year?-Cause Lord knows I can't afford another car payment right now.

Today is one of those days where my baby fever has died away and I feel fine waiting another decade.

The Bad Sign

As stated in my "About me" section I have an adorable 1-year old puppy. He's a Sharpei-mixed mutt and his name is Snoop.

We adopted him February of this year, he was a Valentines Day gift to ourselves. I potty trained him, fitness trained him, taught him tricks, and I've been doing obedience training with him.

My sister-in-law taught his beginner obedience class, and right from the start we could tell he was one smart cookie. He loves to learn! The same rang true the whole way through his intermediate training class we've been taking here in Austin... But everything changed today, at his graduation, my emotions came out and it wasn't pretty.

It all started when we first arrived. We split up into teams and were having a relay with obedience tricks. Each dog/owner team was suppose to take their dog to their corner and get them to sit-lay down-sit then lay down and stay before returning back and tagging to the next dog. We practiced before it was time for the race, we had this in the bag. Our team was short one dog and we even volunteered to go twice to even the odds... Bad idea.

Snoop wouldn't even sit then lay down, he would sniff the food in the isle nearby, try to say hi to the dog on the other side of the store, play dead, ANYTHING but what I was telling him to do! I was getting frustrated, and he was getting frustrated at my frustration. I thought the second time around he'd get it right but no... Same story. We lost... big time. And I wanted to cry.

The teacher must have seen my frustrations because she looked at me, kind of laughed and said "It's ok, it's just a game." Luckily he won the second relay but the rest was downhill.

Not only did he take the longest time to listen to me before healing in front of the class... At the end of class, when they were each called up to get their diplomas, we each had to do a trick in front of everyone. Snoop knows TONS of tricks (he even did a really cute bow on Live TV last week) but tonight... Nothing. He was interested in everything except me and the treats in my hand. I was so embarrassed. If the last day was a final exam he would have FAILED.

Normally he's so good in public I don't know what it was... Maybe my anxiety? All of the distractions? The fact that he didn't have a walk that morning? I was so mad, and I was even more mad at the fact that I was mad.

On the way home I was telling my husband about my frustrations with Snoop and that's when it hit me... I'm going to be "that mom." You know... the one that's yelling at her kid from the bleachers: "WHY DIDN'T YOU SHOOT??!!!" "I TOLD YOU TO KEEP YOUR HANDS UP!!!" "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Please no... Lord, don't let that be me.

The Free Gift

Obviously, I have the baby itch right now. I go through phases and currently my phase is "on" for having a kid! Well, since that's not going to happen for a while I've decided I'll help treat my baby bug with other people's babies, and I've offered free babysitting to all of my friends at work. I also believe this will be good practice.

Here's the email I sent to people I know have kids:

**Free Babysitting**

Hello!

If you're getting this email it's because you have a cute kid (or one on the way).

I want you to know that I am at your service if you ever need a baby sitter. I LOVE kids!

Now you may be thinking "who are you to watch my kid?" But let me tell you... I have LOTS of experience. I worked in daycare for 3 years (I worked with infants for a about 6 months, 3-year-olds for about a year and one-year-olds for the rest of the time). I also was a nanny for about 6 months and I am the oldest of 5 kids, (the youngest is 3 years old).

I (and if my husband's not working him too) will watch your kid(s) while you go out and have fun! I'm available all day Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday-Friday nights.

You can bring him/her/them to my house or I can go to yours! Just try to give me a at least a day's notice. My personal cell number is...

References available upon request!

Hopefully I don't seem too desperate and/or INSANE!