falling into a new groove

day one of week three of husband going to work every day is over and although it took a little getting used to, i'm finding that being home alone with baby is actually more pleasant than having mr. fussalot around. baby and i have developed a nice routine and she naps for at least a couple hours in the middle of the day so i've been able to get a nice break and watch the tcm channel while she sleeps. the atmosphere at home is a little more relaxed and it feels less like there's too many cooks in the kitchen. i never realized how suffocated i was with husband around. sure, it was convenient when i wanted to take a quick shower, but he would get annoyed if/when baby got fussy and kind of blamed me for not playing with her enough or whatever he thought baby's problem was. also, because i have to entertain baby on my own, it forces me to get out more often. the only downside to that is sometimes that leads to unnecessary spending....but as husband says..."whatever keeps the lights on..."

online shop a thon

last night baby went to sleep relatively early so by 9 pm, i was pretty bored. usually i spend pretty much most of my time on the internet in the evenings. i'd love to be working on a craft project right now, but i still have to get my bookkeeping done from my business that closed over a year ago for tax purposes. the accountant and my husband's been getting on my back about it, but i'm so unmotivated to do it, so until i get that done, i really can't be working on anything else, according to husband's point of view. and he's right...

anyway, when in doubt, there's always online shopping. with all the purchases i made last night, i'm surprised the credit card company didn't call and say.... "um....we're just checking to see if someone stole your card and made all these crazy purchases..." actually, maybe i exaggerate a little, but i did find some good buys on clothes for baby for fall. some of my favorite clothing brands for baby right now are ikks, jean bourget and lili gaufrette. the french really know how to design clothes for kids. full price, much of what they have to offer is just a little out of reach for every day wear. but at 50% off, it seems more reasonable. one of my favorite web stores that carries most of the european brands is zandino.com.

from here i got this ikks dress $55:

this top by jean bourget $23:

this jumper by IKKS $27:

and this top by Jean Bourget $26:

then from flyingcolorsbaby.com this outfit by IKKS $49:

finally from monpetitchild.com this little jacket by jean bourget $29:

so, these were my purchases from last night. i just remembered that i ordered a cute winter hat from boden.com last week. i tried getting the picture, but it wouldn't copy over.

baby was looking through the little catalog of corolle dolls and on one page, it shows all the accessories you can buy for the doll. one particular picture caught her eye and she kept pointing to it and grunting. over and over... for a week. it was a picture of a toy stroller with the doll in it and a little girl pushing it. so, this past weekend, we went to the toy store and found that exact stroller and got it. when we brought it home and showed her, she literally couldn't wait for us to put it together... i only wish i bought it sooner because it really kept her occupied...for hours! she kept pushing that baby doll all over the house and she'd stop to feed the baby doll and fuss over it. it was really darn cute, but happily for me, it kept her busy.

the next item we need to get for her is a little table and chairs set. i think husband and i decided on the small table from pottery barn kids. now, i just have to decide on the color. definitely want the white table, but can't decide on the chair color.... secondly, where the heck to we put it once it gets here....

lazy bones

been too lazy to post, but at least i have something to write about. i spent the weekend in my old college stomping ground and it was so great being there. the town has really changed and although it's way more commercial that it used to be, it still has a great feel to it. i came armed with my credit cards and was ready to shop. my friend was an excellent enabler and brought me to a couple new spots in town. there was a super cute children's clothing store where i saw so much stuff i've never seen before. the store was geared toward 'earth friendly' brands, and not too many stores around where i live carry them. i picked up a bunch of cute tops and a dress for baby and my friend treated baby to a super cute top/skirt ensemble... i would post pics of the loot, but it was a bit of a challenge finding good pics online. there was another cute store that had an interesting selection of women's clothing, children's clothing and accessories. i recognized a lot of the women's clothes from anthropologie. looked like her inventory came from anthro's overstocks. i picked up a cute eyelet skirt and a simple shift dress for baby.

the best place we went was the fabric store. it was small, but very well stocked with beautiful designer fabrics. i went a little nuts and bought a ton of fat quarters to add to my ever growing collection. i hope to put all the fabric i have to good use some day, but for now, i just like stockpiling it.

baby was a pretty good backseat traveler this trip. it was only a three hour drive and we basically left around her nap times, so she slept for most of it. our dog came along as well and luckily there is a bunch of pet friendly hotels where we were visiting. one little wake up call from our visit was baby's inability to be taken out to a restaurant. we haven't taken her out to eat in a long time, so we weren't quite sure how she'd do, but if we had to grade her behavior, it'd be an F-. we've been trying to work on her table manners at home, but apparently we need to step it up a couple notches. i've been reading about how to get her to sit at a table online and the advice is all over the board. basically the general consensus is to try to serve all meals at a table and praise good behavior. just need to stick to the rules. husband and i aren't good at that, but we've to to try.

on another note, the babysitter is no longer available. she's gone back home "to figure stuff out". back to the drawing board!

spoke too soon

i've been feeling seriously on edge these past few days. somehow, nice pleasant baby turned into crazy fussy baby and is really driving me crazy. this week has been the first week that husband went to work every day. that is a sad statement because it's only been 3 days and already i'm about to throw in the towel. i don't know how people deal with being alone at home all day every day with their kids. i guess the key is to not be at home all day. getting out is important, but when it's too hot out, there's nowhere to go. strapping baby in a stroller and walking around the mall does not count as an activity and definitely doesn't do anything to expel baby's energy.

after spending a week with family and lots of built in stimulation, baby is definitely missing it and is bored to death. there's very little i can do to entertain her. she's bored of her toys and has taken her boredom out on the dog. luckily our dog is very patient, but we've got to be careful because there's only so much tail pulling a dog can handle. if only baby operated on a predictable schedule, planning out the day would be a little easier. lately, her naps have been all over the map and today she didn't nap at all. i needed a time out and literally locked myself in the bathroom with my computer for 15 minutes. as long as i could hear baby whining on the other side of the door, i figured she was safe.

next item on my to do list... email that babysitter!!

m.i.a.

sorry i haven't posted in a while. we spent a week at the beach and i haven't really been inspired to write about anything. i guess that means that i haven't been feeling very miserable lately. actually, for the first time, i'm kind of feeling like a mother. this big turn of events is due to baby becoming more of a person and less of a baby. this week, baby learned her body parts. that kind of blew my mind. she can definitely understand a lot of words, but for me to teach her stuff...i have to admit it's pretty cool. she's also very affectionate and it really melts my heart. i never thought the day would come when my stone cold heart (towards kids) would feel anything but disdain, but every time she comes over with a hug and kiss... all i can think of is "awwww".

i also haven't really bought a ton of stuff lately. i really wanted to buy stuff on the island, but there simply wasn't anything to buy. i bought baby another outfit at lilly pulitzer and a pair of flip flops for me. i did buy some stuff today - a doll for baby, an dress for baby, and a jacket for me. i'm really into outerwear right now. once fall comes, i'll be all set.