Etsy'n

People are awesome. We're a curious, playful species. You just have to go to the furniture section of Etsy to see for yourself. We make the coolest stuff.

Every part of me wants that vintage printers drawer upcycled into a jewelry display. Looove it.

I am not alone.

Why I love blogging and fellow mom bloggers in the blogosphere.

How sleep deprivation = ants.

I am not a failure as a housekeeper. I'm just tired.

Babytalk

In the back of the van, Thane's trying to cheer up a slightly disgruntled Max.

"Don't cry Maxy, it's o-tay. Does your belly hurt? Just don't think about it. Think about good things! Think about the day you were born. Think about watching brothers play lego. Think about how cute you are!"

Max whimpers.

"Oh, don't cry, that was a compliment! A compliment is a good thing! You'll probably always be cute."

Max really starts to cry. We're almost home but he wants third dinner.

"I give up Mom."

A peek at the world

For Maxwell that is. Max hit a big milestone today, he now wants to look out, snuggling inwards just won't cut it.

I was doing errands today, with Max in the sling, where he and I are happiest. I'm a big fan/advocate of the baby sling. My baby's love to be in there, feel comforted and close to mama and usually cozy in and fall asleep. I love that they are happy, and I love that my back isn't breaking while attempting to lug the heavy and awkward car seat around. So Maxwell's infant car seat is just that, a seat for the car, and most of the time I take him out for errands and plop him into the sling.

There's recent controversy about slings due to news coverage of infants suffocating in them. My response to this? As with anything, you need to be careful and attentive to baby. I didn't use the sling with Max until he was about three weeks old, when I felt he fit and it worked for us. And then in the early weeks of using it, you still pay attention that the baby is positioned properly and can breathe. Common sense really. Babywearing has existed safely for thousands of years, and I feel this panic is the usual media driven negative response to techniques that are old, assuming that new must mean better. But today's babies spend so much time alienated in plastic seats, from their carseats to their swings and their strollers, limiting their closeness with mom, and later, limiting their opportunities to explore. Seth's physiotherapist has even commented on the rise in cases she's dealt with of flat head's in infants from the combination of the new back to sleep recommendation and extended use in all of these hard plastic seats.

I made my first sling way back when Thane was a baby, a simple tube of fabric reinforced at the shoulder with four or five seams. I still use that one occasionally. I eventually bought another sling second hand, made by Peanut Shell, and on their site I came across an excellent section on how to position baby. It was a really helpful guide in how to use the sling, making the sling even more useful for me. Back to my original train of thought, up until now Max has been happily snuggled in the sling in the cradle carry, the position that works best for newborns, supporting their heads and snuggling them horizontally, in towards you. Today though, he kept squirming and just didn't seem content in the sling, which was unusual. Then it dawned on me, that he's almost two months old and maybe I should try the next position, where he can face out. I situated him around into the 'kangaroo carry', with his back to my chest and his legs curled up crosslegged, and all of a sudden he was happy as a peach, peeking out at the world, making all the passerby's melt at his cuteness.

My baby's getting bigger.

Claire, snuggled in kangaroo style in 2008, at 6 months old.

Right now

: Groceries bought and a stack of pictures printed (digital cameras and my procrastination don't mix well). They sit on the the kitchen floor, but at least the brood will be fed.

: One chunka munka big hot bundle of baby boy is lightly sleeping on my lap. I don't want to wake him, so my lap it is in exchange for a few moments of still.

: The house is heavy with heat. Flies buzz at the windows. It's tiresome to breathe the hot air, and everything smells, just more. Outside temperatures are record high for September. It's an uncomfortable reminder that we need to do more, be better, care more to work our way out of global warming. The friendly guy preaching his beliefs dropped off a magazine that mocks me, "The End is Near!". Maybe so my friend, maybe so.

: Hurricane Earl is coming near (or is he a tropical storm now?). Must bring in the bikes, the garbage, the toys. Everyone waits to see what the storm will bring. Perhaps no damage, but coolness? One can only hope.

: Back to school germs are knocking at my door. I can tell by Thane's croaky voice and cranky attitude. Echinacea, colloidal silver, thieves soap, and tea tree shampoo. Bring it on germs, I'm ready for ya.

: The teething banshee girl child is waking up. The boys will be off the bus in half an hour, foaming at the mouth hungry and grumpy hot, school notices and mail trailing them. A hungry and hot daddy will follow shortly, dirty workboots and all. My still moment is done for today.

: The house will soon magically transform from a quiet still to hilarious chaos. Okay Mama - deep breath, glass of water, and a big stretch. I'm ready for you three o'clock.

so tired....

My brain is foggy. I'm putting faith in my three-month theory, that by month three the sleepy new baby fog will lift and I'll feel alive again. I also remember saying before that month two is the hardest. It's like the lack of full nights sleep catches up with you.

I just finished bragging yesterday that Max is such a good sleeper. Which he is, usually. Although so far he just cat-naps through the day, he generally has a great night stretch of sleep, like 10 pm to 5 am, or 12-7ish. Not last night however. I'm thinking the chocolate I ate yesterday didn't agree with him. So chocolate has joined coffee and pizza on the no-go breastfeeding list for this babe.

Every time I have a baby I'm so hard on myself around this point. Why am I so incapable of keeping my house clean? I know everyone says not to worry about it, no one expects you to have a clean house with a new baby and a house full of kids. But they lie. A gross bathroom, overflowing counters, and playroom with no floor space left to play on is really not okay. Finding clean clothes for the kids to go to school in is mission impossible around here. And the house in this state definitely makes it impossible to have people visit comfortably. I would love to be happy to see the unnannounced visitors who pop by to see the new baby. It's great to have people stop by! I love it! But my house is so embarrassing. Everyone says 'Sleep when the baby sleeps', which I really do, but that certainly doesn't help the crazy messy house situation. And everyone also says to be sure to ask for help, which I do sometimes, but no one has time to help! Everyone has their own chaos to keep cleaned up. I've thought about hiring some housecleaning help, someone to do the big stuff, the bathrooms, floors, and dusting, but how can I expect someone to vacum when they can't see the floor through the toys?

You know who I keep comparing myself to? Do you watch the Duggars? You know Michelle Duggar, of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting? How does she do it? Sure she has teenage kids to help out now, but there was a point she had like 8 kids under 10 years old. And my grandmother, mother to 13 with no electricity or laundry machines. I thought about this when I was pregnant too. I'm sure they didn't just stop. DesignMom, the chic and savvy mother of 6, designer, and celebrated blogger, and SouleMama, the online incarnation of Martha Stewart meets Mother Nature, homeschooling mother of 4 and author, were back to blog posting as usual days after their new babes. I know I don't really see into their 'real' lives, but even my own good friend, mother of 5 between 8 and six months and trying for another, has a home that really is always clean, or at least tidy. I know. I pop in unexpected.

Bauhaus Wife, my artist friend Yolande (in this post), currently is 42 weeks pregnant in the worst heat wave of the year. Along with chasing her toddler Horus, publishing papers, manning their animals and tending a garden, living sustainably and foregoing a lot of easier ways out to do so, just weeks ago her and her husband fired a kiln for 10 DAYS and opened their new show.

Women amaze me. How do they do it?

Surely I can get this house clean.