Mama Musings

Here are a few tidbits of reality and advice I have picked up over the last year...

• Once your little one is old enough to crawl/walk, you can kiss every last bit of privacy or personal space goodbye.
~This especially applies to the bathroom setting. Get your business done quick, or get used to having an audience. Also expect to have the shower curtain ripped down when you are relishing those 5 minutes of steamy, showery peace & quiet.

• The word "quiet" also takes on a new meaning...unless they are asleep or eating, if it suddenly gets quiet, it probably means the little bambino is up to no good.
~In our house that eerie silence means O-dawg is either eating dog food, scattering every last diaper and wipe across the house, or climbing onto the dining room table. Ayiyi!

• Owen has finally become an excellent sleeper. If you've gone through months and months...and months of waking up multiple times, you know just how amazing it is to turn that corner. Being a parent turns sleep into a necessity AND luxury. Sleeping in until 11am, afternoon naps when I please and 2am bedtimes by choice...I should have never taken those things for granted!

• Now getting da babe to sleep can sometimes be a different story...for mama, at least. A little rocking & back patting by Grammy, Nana, or Daddy usually does the trick, but when Mama's on bedtime duty, there's only one thing on little mister's mind..and it starts and ends with the letter B.
~Now this secret weapon has come in handy, and seems to be the magical cure-all, but now I'm wondering if tits been a bit overused? Lol! Just saw my typo...how fitting!

•I think "mommy" is also a synonym for worry-wart, let's- think-of-every-possible-disastrous-outcome, I-want-to-put-my-child-in-a-safety-bubble, over thinker. It's really ridiculous how a simple trip to the park can unleash an overreaction of concerns & worries in my mind. I mean, he's not going to fall off the side of the slide when I have a death grip around his waist, and that creepy old man at the picnic table is not a child molester, he's actually waiting for his wife & granddaughter to finish their bike ride ( ya...felt pretty shitty about that one!)
~Thing is, I'm not alone in this maniacal way of thinking, which does make me feel a bit less crazy! Being a new mom is overwhelming, and a big guessing game most of the time, but why can't we just relax & go with the flow? I'm a work in progress on this one, and when my kid's climbing on the dining room table I probably do seem pretty relaxed!

• Growing your family from two to three obviously means a few sacrifices...especially when it comes to social time/mommy & daddy time/girl time/adult time...you get the picture. What once was girls' night out, with fruity cocktails & juicy gossip now equals a play date at the library or zoo with sippy cups and animal crackers.
~Funny thing though...while I sometimes miss the freedoms of the B.B. era (before baby), I love the new experiences I share with my boy, & seeing the world, brand-new, through his eyes reminds me of the everyday joys & wonders of life. Now don't get me wrong, I definitely think every mama deserves a date night & girls' get together (in fact I'm itching for Saturday night to roll around--Mama's hitting the town!), but I've realized building block towers and playing tickle monster is way more fulfilling. I love that! Who knew?!

It has begun...

Today is a very important day in the Hopkins household. 

It's the first day of football season. 

More importantly, it's the Chief's home opener---a game that absolutely, without a doubt cannot be missed.  This day means cheesy rotel dip, hot wings, bud light, and a few choice words for the ref and opposing team :)  However, it's 3rd quarter, and I've only heard a handful of "S.O.B's", mother-beepers and the like, echoing up from the man cave.  For the next few months, we can only schedule family activities between 8-11:45 am and anytime after 3:30pm on Sundays.  We are required to rep red & gold, and it is essential keep an infinite stock of beer and snacks on hand.  The Monday Night Football song must be memorized and sung with gusto, week after week, and superstitious rituals and traditions must be observed and respected.  More importantly, when we suffer a loss (and it's the Chiefs, so we are bound to encounter one or two of those), my duties include consoling and cheering up a die-hard fan with wounded pride.  So let's just toast those aluminum cans to a winning season in KC :)  Cheers!

My Big Chief & Little Chief Fan In Training

Feels like the first time

Happy Friday!  It's raining outside, I'm snuggled up under the covers, the boys are napping & life is good!

The last few weeks have held a lot of "firsts" for our little family.  We celebrated Owen's 1st Birthday!  We partied down with our wonderful family and friends and had a great time!  He loved his cake, I loved the homemade sangria, and we were so happy to share such a fun day with all the great people in our lives.  You know the saying..."enjoy it, because the time flies by...", and it certainly does.  During the last 12 months, this little baby has turned into a little boy.  He is full of laughter, love, curiosity and affection.  Daddy can get the best giggles out of him, and he's a sucker for snuggles with Mom.  Definitely a ladies' man, he can turn on the charm and also be quite the ham.  He has Grandma wrapped around his finger, and brings so much fun and laughter to family gatherings.  We remind ourselves how blessed we are--every single day. 


We also had the pleasurable experience of dealing with our first sick little boy.  He caught the 24 hr stomach bug.  It was not pretty.  Puke in the crib, puke on the blankets, puke on the couch, puke on his clothes.  2am puke also means sacrificing a towel or two to the trash & hoping it's not going to be a repeat performance (luckily, it wasn't!).  One entire year without more than a sniffle is pretty darn lucky, so we were bound to catch something eventually.  It was a pretty sad sight, and those big blue eyes sure pull on your heartstrings when your arsenal of mommy cuddles, kisses, milk and silly songs just don't do the trick.  Luckily he was a trooper & we are on the mend, going full steam ahead!  Here's hoping there's another full year before we have to deal with that again. 

Another fancy first--Owen FINALLY said "Mama!"  We've only been working on that for the last 12 months!  I couldn't believe my ears, and then the waterworks started.  Geesh, I'm such a softie these days.  He's also saying "juice" which means sippy cup, "dog"--of course that would not be decipherable to the average ear, "dada" was a first, and has been practicing a few signs.

                          Happy Birthday to the love of our lives!

                                                          Presents!!!!



Talia & Jace came to celebrate!



Grammy, Mama & Auntie Hannah ready to partaaay :)   

There it is...the good, the bad, the ugly.  We take it all!

Whoa, whoa, wait a minute!

We are barely one week into little man being an entire year old (more on that later), and I just found my first GRAY hair!! Eeeek!  I do not remember reading this in the motherhood description!  I have navigated my way through many sleepless nights, boo-boos, drool on everything and more dirty diapers than I care to count...but this?  This single hair is almost too much for this mama to handle!  I guess it's time for a few highlights, and maybe a poor me pity party, complete with a glass (bottle?) of wine :)

Summa Summa Summa Tiiiime

Maybe I've been spoiled at a young age with annual summer vacations from California to Florida, and everywhere in between, but it's just not a true summer without at least one little getaway.  Perhaps it's my free-spirit, the wandering soul within, yearning for travel and wide open spaces, but I just can't be content with a summer that doesn't include loading everything but the kitchen sink in the car & hitting the open road.  A few last minute, on a whim plans (the BEST kind of plans!) and we have a little fun in the sun planned!

A few weeks ago we trekked out to the glorious Colorado mountains for a taste of big sky, fly fishing ( I "moved" a trout--somewhat of a success in the fishing world, or so I'm told), hiking, rafting (the real deal folks, forget about the professional river guides when you have Papa Hop in the captains seat!)  and a little family bonding.  B headed out a few days early for some extra fishing time--so O-dawg & I hit the skies for his first  trip by plane.  Note to self---11 months is not exactly an "ideal" age to earn your wings, but after a 4 hour delay, numerous Starbucks coffees, and a quick 15 minute jump from Denver to Colorado Springs, we survived.   Here are a few action shots from the trip :)



B working the fly rod on Grape Creek



 

Ark River rafting with our rafting buddies to the left



Owen's first hike---love those long legs a-danglin'!!

The killer view of Canon City area as you are heading on the road from hell up to the house.  I cringe every time! 



Just a week later, we hit the road running and set our sail for the hills of Missouri.  No one loves the Ozarks more than my mother, so Table Rock lake was the setting for our first vacation in several years with everyone there!  We won't mention my failed attempt at wake boarding (hey, bonus points for trying!!), or the serious whiplash I got after dominating (or was it being owned?) by a massive wake on the tube (Thanks, Zach! grr!), but I did show that outlet mall how to shop, so we'll count the trip as a success :)  Owen had a blast, hamming it up, enjoying the spotlight, as always, and the hubs and I celebrated SIX years of marriage.  Good stuff!



Trying to be cool 



My little lake baby







Lake Living...good stuff



Now it's back to reality, and the crazy busy schedule of fall/school starting/routine/responsibility that will try to rule our lives for the next few months.  Glad we were able to stock up on some R&R, sunshine & good company to get us through!







Ramblings, Pt. 2

So I know the repetitive "mommy" theme of this blog might be wearing a little thin.  Sure, you've got a kid, he's cute as hell, you love him a ton...is that all you got, Hopkins?  Truth be told, my life outside of time spent with the little monster is pretty ordinary.  For example, today I went to a city commission meeting, I hung out in the community garden at work, I read and wrote a ridiculous amount of e-mails, I made a bunch of phone calls, I missed buying Heck's sweet corn at the Farmer's Market, and then I stayed up entirely too late catching up on blog posts and current events.  Saweeeet. (I think I may be borderline grumpy after this long-ass day).  

I just wrote in my last post about celebrating the little moments that make the ordinary a little more special, so most of those little moments have been sourced by an 11 month old goofy, toothy grinnin' little boy.  His antics and budding personality are far more interesting than the regular stuff that takes up the day-to-day experience.  Not that I'm complaining about my day-to-day, I'm just telling it like it is. No one cares if I had a roast beef sandwich for lunch (actually it was ice cream), or if I got a parking ticket when a meeting ran late (no ticket...but I did do a massive curb check in my mother in law's car as I was leaving the bank drive thru...nice), but something about a chubby cheeked little boy that is learning to walk and talk and become a real-life little person seems like a topic with a little more substance.  And the fact that I'm in charge of that little person turns this interesting story into a hilarious comedy.  Yikes--that's a lot of responsibility for a twenty-something free-spirited Pisces.  Hell, that's a big responsibility for any person, period.  It might be a little delayed, but I think I might be going through post-I'm now a parent shock.   The same thing happened when I got married at the ripe age of 20...it took about a year to sink in, then Holy Crap! I'm married!  Now, almost 6 years later, it's Holy Crap!  I have a baby!  No...wait, he's not a baby anymore!  How did that happen?!  By some extraordinary twist of fate, my ordinary daily routine of meetings, emails, phone calls from mom, dinner with b, roadtrips on a whim, shopping sprees and travelling with ease got turned upside down and a sweet little baby rocked my world.  11 months later it is sinking in, and all that stuff that once made up my day-to-day doesn't look anything like it used to, and I'm totally ok with that.  Not gonna lie, sometimes I miss the good old days of independence and 2am bedtimes by choice, but as my friend Erin recently said, "I don't want to live in the past, just gonna keep on moving forward...",  so I'm loving it, embracing a new phase in life and seeing where it takes me.  I've always liked to refer to everything as an "adventure" or a "journey," and I may not be climbing mountains or saving the world, but life right now is definitely a new kind of adventure, dominated by a 3 foot tall (what can I say, the kid's gonna be a giant!) little dude.  Ok, definitely rambling.  Time for bed!

Ramblings...

**I started this post below about a month ago--whoa, baby time flies...Owen just turned 11 months earlier this week.  Yikes!

We had a great weekend.  A don't-want-it-to-end, sunshine and blue skies, fun and memories type of weekend.  The sky was full of those white, fluffy Simpson cartoon clouds and the open road was all mine.  I love that back-road drive to Burlington.  Something about the rolling prairie, farm ponds and fields of corn and wheat triggers a deep contented sigh and a true love for Kansas summer.  Not to mention, driving in the direction of home always brings a feeling of comfort.  O-Dawg and I trekked to Grandma and Grandpa's to celebrate Father's Day with my Daddio, complete with picnic at the park and playground fun.  I love watching Owen's face light up as he discovers new experiences and surroundings.  He revives my inner child, and I get just as excited as he does, seeing the world from a brand-new perspective.  We also had a gourmet shrimp feast at the lake with Nana and Papa.  A hodge podge of side dishes, paper plates and outdoor dining at its finest!  A little girl time, rest and relaxation, and celebrating B's first Father's Day, complete with a handmade card and a lotta love put the finishing touches on a wonderful weekend. 

Little man is 10 months old!  He has started to jabber and talk a lot more lately, although we are still waiting for consistent ma-mas and da-das to start rolling out of his mouth.  I know every child has their "timeline," and Owen has exceeded most developmental milestones, but I am anxious about him getting to this speech milestone.  As a mama, all these thoughts start going through my mind--is it because he's not in daycare?  Is daily interaction with other kids a crucial component in his cognitive development?  Has he hit is head one to many times since he has learned to crawl and pull up on anything and everything?!  Does my child have some type of brain injury as a result of his clumsiness? Am I so good at reading his non-verbal cues that he feels no need to speak or get my attention?  I mean, most of this is silly, but it does cross my mind.  I have found that becoming a mother has set off an instant panic button in my brain, but I need to remember to relax and enjoy.  This little tyke isn't so little anymore...it's all about opening drawers, crawling up the stairs, crawling like crazy and on the go, go, GO! Ayy, I'm pooped!  This motherhood gig is definitely a labor of love.  It's worth every minute, but juggling it all?  It ain't easy!

I think it comes down to celebrating the little moments. (So the moral of the story, kids...).  But honestly, there's a lot of good stuff that happens each day.  Maybe the good stuff serves as a reminder;  to live with gratitude, seek joy in the ordinary and to sustain us through the not so good stuff.  Happy (late) Father's Day to all the kick-ass daddios out there...that's a little moment worth celebrating, for sure! 

Playground and Pool Fun!