Can you say "Yes!" ?

Perfect aim!

This was not a bird!

So often people ask me, "What do you do all day?"  I'm a stay at home mom and was previously a stay at home pregnant person.  When people would ask me that, I'd think about it and say, "I don't know.  I know I did something!"  We don't have tv so I couldn't have sat around and watched hours upon hours of useless programming.  At one point in time I'd play online games against my sister but then Hailey was born and that disappeared to.  So now what do I do with my time? Well, lots of laundry since we use cloth diapers (gDiapers).  Make bread.  Fold laundry (see picture for further explanation). Think about what to make for dinner.  Clean the kitchen, do dishes.  Stop and play bejeweled.  Edit photos from my wedding, even though that was almost a year ago!  No I'm still not done... So much little stuff.  The kicker though?  It is all done inbetween Hailey napping and waking and feeding.  The life of a mom.  I'm sure it's only going to get crazier.

So with all the chores, what do I do to stay sane or happy?  Well, this afternoon after feeding Hailey I just sat there for a few minutes and tried to get her to smile! Remember the pictures from the previous blog, we're talking about getting a serious baby to smile.  Its not impossible.  She's actually smiling more these days, especially right after she's woken up from a nap, eaten and has a full belly.

Next, we experimented with the new (old/borrowed) jumper since she's strong enough to hold her head up and she's been standing with assistance for the last week.  She enjoyed it and smiled in it.  Then she started getting tired.  Back to the sit and swing until she got drowsy then into her crib for nap 2 of the day.  So, what do I do with my time, I take care of a 2.5 month old.  Then I squeeze in time to take care of the house and Joel.  Then I take time to do absolutely nothing.  That's usually around ten at night though.  I've learned that if I want me time I have to take it at the gym and that has to be right after Hailey wakes up and eats in the morning.  I've really enjoyed having cheap daycare at the gym for up to 2 hrs a day.  I can go, drop Hailey off, work out, pick her up and head home. 

When I first had Hailey, I felt like I had so much to do and no time to do it.  The dishes piled up, the laundry never got done.  Joel rarely had his lunch made or packed.  The house was a mess.  I was a mess.  None of us were sleeping.  It seemed as if our lives were over and never going to be the same again.  Well, the darkness of the first 6 weeks is long since past and as you can see we are regaining our normal lives with a few alterations... alterations for the better that is.  I'm not an emotional person but it does melt my heart a little bit when Hailey smiles.

So where did my time go?  It went to a worthy cause.  So many people today don't stop to smell the flowers, or eat them... have you tried it?  We are too busy being busy with we don't even know what to realize that the precious smiles are fading away.  I am blessed that Joel works as hard as he does to provide the life that we have.  No we don't have the big HD TV that he wants.  We just barely got our own internet.  We have two old cars that function but aren't fancy.  We don't have lots of things.  Joel even is settling right now for enjoying Hailey for about an hour once he gets home before she goes to bed.  Granted she's usually already half past cranky so he doesn't get those smiles.  But they are there.  Linda Pyrah gave me advice at the baby shower.  "She said stop.  Stop and listen."  Kids these days are growing up with parents who are too busy doing ???  Is it really more important?  Is the extra money or the fancy things that take up more of our time worth it?  Usually not.  As I have put away my wants and given my time to Hailey I have found that when people ask me, "Do you enjoy being a mom/parent?"  I can finally say, "Yes."