Toddlerdom: my experience thus far pt. 2.

Here are just some of the challenges I've encountered with my now 2-year-old.

• The tantrums. Thankfully mild at this point, but he still throws every now and again. Mostly if you take something away from him that he's playing with {for instance, his daddy's wallet}. Really if we're patient and ask him for it politely - wouldn't ya know - he'll hand it over freely. But let's be real, most of the time we're like:

• The picky eating. This kid, smh. He's mad for bananas since he was 6 months old and now, we're lucky if he'll finish half a banana. Although, I did chop one up today and he ate it all so who knows, maybe he's into 'em again?! Also, it seems unless it's vegan mac & "cheese", veggie dogs, PB&J, or fries he won't eat it. The kid refuses to put anything green in his mouth and yet when we get the report back from his daycare he's eating salad there! WTF, now how does that work?

• Bottle weaning. This isn't so much with him as it is with everyone else telling us to in subtle and not so subtle ways to ease him off the bottle. It's so fucking annoying. He has maybe 2-3 bottles a day and the rest of the time he's drinking from cups. I'm really not that concerned about it. He's barely 2. And yeah, I want him to be fully weaned off the bottle, but we got time. I just want to tell folks to back the fuck up. It's not like I'm feeding him chocolate cake for breakfast or giving him chocolate chip cookies for snacks. The kid is fine and soon enough he'll break his meth (j/k!) bottle habit.  

• Potty training. Technically we haven't started yet, but I just know this is gonna be a challenge. He's sat on the toilet at home and at daycare, but hasn't figured out how to pee in it quite yet. We're looking forward to the day he's potty trained, but the training bit is something I'm not looking forward to.   

Really the challenges so far haven't been too bad. I have more issues with my cat who currently won't stop meowing at me. At least I can lock him up without any guilt. ;)

Dang, that post per week is harder than I thought.

Turns out that 2 hours I have while he naps ain't always 2 hours. Plus, I eat during that time and sometimes I dabble in cleaning the house or battle that elusive beast called laundry (or Handry when it's Han's clothes). Anyhoots, not sure anyone but me is reading this here blog but it'll be a good reminder when I reflect back.

Currently the kid is napping. I'm home from work until my mother-in-law gets home to watch him so I can go into to work today. The kid has Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. #fml. Let's hope we can avoid the finger/toenail falling off stage.

I think he's waking up now, so I'll end it here. With any luck I'll have that Toddlerdom Challenges post up on Monday. Fingers crossed.

Toddlerdom and my experience thus far pt. 1.

So having a toddler is awesome and challenging. Hey, much like having a baby but with a whole new set of issues and developmental goals. Han still sleeps like a champ, which thank the gods because having a kid is tough ass shit and mama needs her sleep. So here is a list of awesome and challenging things that Danny and I have had to deal with raising a toddler.

First off, the awesome:

• Keeping himself entertained. Yes, go play while I finish Ready Player One.

• Feeding himself. Here's your Mac & "Cheese" (were raising him vegan - yeah, yeah relax. He's getting PLENTY of protein.) while Mommy and Daddy have a conversation. 

• Talking. Oh man, I love it. He says so much now, like: Mama, Daddy, more, all done, fish, night night, hello, goodbye, where go, D2 (for R2D2), hot, come on, and there's more but it escapes me at the mo'.

• Taking our finger and leading us to what he wants. Whether that's in the kitchen, going to his room, or wanting to go outside.

• The hugging and the kissing. He gives some powerful hugs and I absolutely love it. Sometimes he'll go crazy with a kissing fit! He'll just sit there and kiss me a million times in a row. I love me some Han kisses and hugs.

• The dancing. Whenever he hears music his shoulders start swaying and his little booty wiggles. He also recognizes songs too, which is adorable listening to him try and sing-along while dancing. 

• The personality. It's so fun getting a peek into what to expect with this kid's personality. He's such a goof.  

I'll do the challenges next week as the kid is awake now and makes concentrating hard on my part. Plus he like tapping on the keyboard when I use my laptop.

So, about ten months later.

I got a new job and it keeps me extremely busy, so this here blog-o fell by the wayside. Which, I figure is the case for a lot of wannabe bloggers out there like me. That's right, self-professed "wannabe blogger" here.

I love my new job. In fact, it was my goal to land at this position: Teen Services Librarian. Let me tell ya, being a Teens Services Librarian and a mother of toddler is some exhausting (albeit rewarding) stuff.

That being said, new goals: write at least one post per week. Obviously while the kid naps. And on my day off. So, Mondays at around the noonish hour I will pull out the old laptop and type away. Because at the end of the day this here mouthpiece via social media was all about documenting my kid and my trials and tribulations as a new ma. And that hasn't changed even if he's about to turn two(!).

So, I read some books.

(I originally started an update post to my to do (wish) list, but the lighting is so bad for photos because this weekend decided to be overcast. So next week I plan on posted an update.) 

I was perusing Pinterest and saw someone pinned "What I read in 2013" - or something to that effect. Then I thought, "I should document what I read, so I'll remember because let's face it my memory is shite most of the time." And since my last post was about books, I figure, might as well keep it up. 

Ok, so here's what I'm thinking...At the end of each book I read I'll write a post about it. That way I'll have something in writing proving that I read a book. My goal is to read at least 1 book per month - although, I'm hoping it'll be more. Heck, I already successfully read 2 books and well on my way to a total of 3 this month. Props to me.

But in effort to catch up, here's what I've read thus far this year (don't worry it ain't a lot):

 

This is a young adult novel written by a person I know. I very much enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading YA novels, which includes kids and adults. ;)

 

This book was a hoot. I actually didn't really like Bossypants by Tina Fey and I was a little crushed by that; however, Amy Poehler's memoir was a hit with me. I love how frank and raw she is. Maybe I could just relate to her a little better? Maybe I appreciated how her book was setup? Maybe I laughed more? Maybe it's all those things and more? Either way, I'd totes read this again.

Here are a couple I tried reading, but just couldn't get into, but that doesn't mean I won't try reading them again:

 

I was really liking this novel, but I was only picking it up before bed and it's a library book. So before I even got to page 100 the book was due back and I couldn't renew it because there was a waiting list. So, I'd like to borrow this baby again. 

 

I own this book - in fact I own the whole trilogy - but before I could really get into it, Inherent Vice was available to read at the library. I put this one on hold so I could read a library that I didn't finish and then I didn't go back to this one. Sometimes my reading habits are flighty. Again, I hope to pick it back up before the year ends. 

And I am currently listening to this audiobook:

I listen to this while Danny drives me to work. We've listened to all the books and are halfway done with this one. I so can't wait to be all caught up! Of course we have the show to keep us going too. We are huge Game of Thrones fans. I have to say though, the books aren't keeping our interest as much as they used to. That being said, we do have our favorite chapters, which for this one so far is only Tyrion. Does anyone else hate having to hear/read about Dorne and Iron Born peeps? Ugh! The 4th book was definitely the hardest to get through. 

Well there ya have it, my reads for 2015. I'm actually quite proud of myself for reading as much as I have 5 months into the year. I've been such a slacker! And this is even BEFORE Han, so no excuse. I even got Danny reading Eleanor & Park now, so I'm feeling like 2015 is the year of literature in our household. I'm giddy with books!

Hey, you gonna blog or what?

Yes, I've slacked a bit on this here blog-o-roo. I kept meaning to post. Honestly. But then, life. You know? As I've said before, April was a whirlwind of a month! Han's 1st b-day, my wedding, and interviewing for my dream job. Well, that's finally all over. But wait, you might say. It's already the 13th of May, so what gives?

Well, one of the 2 interviews didn't pan out. The first one was to get on the eligibility list and the second one was for a Teen Services Librarian position with a library branch. BUT, I was called in to interview for yet another Teen Services position at another branch the first week of May. Well, the day after that interview, I was offered the JOB!!! Yes, I'm doing some goofy dance moves about it - what?! Don't judge. 

So now I go from being a Law Librarian to a Teen Services Librarian - woot woot! And maybe that seems like a step down or something, but if you're Librarian than you get it. No Librarian job is a step down - it's just a step toward the type of services you endeavor to work in. For me that's being a Teen Services Librarian. I'm still in awe that I got that job! I mean the eligibility list was for Youth Services, so I assumed Children's Librarian. See, their aren't many Teen Services Librarian positions out there but their are several Children's Librarian positions. But I nabbed a Teen one!!! That was my focus in library school (yes, you have to go to school to become a librarian. In fact, it's a Master's program).

Anyhoots, that's been the major focus for me the last few weeks. Now I'm counting down the days until May 30th! I decided it's been way too long since I read a YA novel, so I FINALLY read:

And of course it was an UH-MAZING read! I can't believe it took me so long to read this! I remember when it came out and a friend of mine kept raving about it. I guess I was basing it on the cover. I know, I know! Never judge a book by its cover, but when I saw it all I could think of was The Indian in the Cupboard and no thanks. Boy was I so wrong. The themes include poverty, race, alcoholism, and friendship. This is such a funny, sad, and poignant read. Yeah, highly recommend. 

Then to keep the momentum going, Danny bought me this one for Ma's Day:

And talk about SWOON! Hashtag feels! Haha, yeah it's about high school love but there's more than just a make out session going on in this book. It's about dysfunctional families, being young, being different, accepting being different, and falling in love with another person's differences. It's a bittersweet read and it takes me back to the feelings I had when I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower when I was in high school. In his review for The New York Times, John Green said the book, "reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book." Thanks, John Green. Per usual you are so right on. And thanks, Rainbow Rowell for delivering a rather simple story in a complex way. I didn't want it to end and when it did, I was pissed. Haha - I mean not by the ending necessarily, but because I didn't want to let it go. I'm STILL thinking about it. 

I started reading another book (an adult book):

And I find myself drifting back into Eleanor & Park's world. Maybe I should have delved into another YA novel. But I had read The Rook was like Harry Potter for adults. It's part epistolary, which I HATE unless I'm reading a book from the late 1600s. But, I'll chug through it since it's a library book and all I have at the moment. Should have gone with a John Green palate cleanser like Paper Towns before moving onto adult novels. Haha. Next book. ;)

And because this picture cracks me up, here's Han with my friend's kids (they came down from Oregon for a quick visit):

He looks so teeny! But he loved playing with a couple of big kids. Well, I'm going to try and get back on my at least 2 posts a week schedule. So stay tuned. :)

  

Weekend ramblings: April editions, vol. 3

First and foremost, did y'all witness this UH-MAZING trailer?! Ok, if not, do yourself a favor and click play.



CHILLS! Am I right?! I was just tickled that this came out during our wedding week. I mean that's how you know it's meant to be. *hand to chest*

Ok, well. Danny and I tied the knot after our 5 year journey together as an unmarried couple. And it was a wonderful experience and I'm so happy we did it. Our professional photos, which were taken by our friend aren't ready yet, but for now here are some from our family and friends.

{This is a little preview from our friend who photographed our wedding}