Life changing moments

So I have to share this with you all. And feel free to be very jealous.

I went to Wal-Mart last night. By myself.

End of story.

Nobody would understand how epic this was for me if you aren't a parent. Jake forgot to pick up formula on his way home from work last night, so after having dinner with my parents, I realized we needed some.

So I got in the car, without a carseat, diaper bag, or baby, and drove to Wal-Mart. Windows down, radio up...back to my old driving habits (meaning I drove like a mad woman).

I went into Wal-Mart, not needing to get a baby out of a car seat, get a cart, or worry about how I'm going to entertain Jennie in 20 seconds because she is already bored.

I picked up the can of formula, checked out, walked back to my car, and drove home. Again, windows down, radio up.

I seriously feel like I had a vacation last night. And now I'm officially a grown up.

PS- to residents of Rochelle, IL...I'm sorry if I disturbed you. Momma needed to listen to Jason Aldean, REALLY loud last night :)

11 months old

Today, Jennie Jo is 11 months old. In just one month, I will have a one year old. Mommy melt down ensues. And Miss Joyce, her teacher at the daycare, decided to tell me that she is "officially walking at 11 months". Ok, she isn't walking all by herself yet, but can take 3 or 4 steps. Again, another mommy melt down. EVERY parent I know says this- but once you have kids, time flies. You go from pushing out a 7 pound 9 ounce alien-looking thing to catching your 11 month old playing in the toilet water. Yep, happened yesterday morning. She can now say "da da", "ow", "hi" and when you say doggy she says "woof". Guess what? No "momma" yet. Every time I try to get her to say it, she either laughs or says "da da". I know most babies say da da first anyway because it is easier to form with the tongue and lips blah blah blah. I don't care. This girl can have an entire conversation with herself using only da da, fluctuating her voice up and down, enunciating, as in "DA da da dadada DA DA da"...but no momma. Any of you remember the first time your kid(s) said that magic word? The day that happens for me, there will be a blog post for sure!

Anyways, now that Jennie is mobile, life as I know it has changed. I can no longer just put her into her bouncy seat or jumper and wheel her around the house while I clean- now I have to pick her up, carry her into the laundry room or kitchen, speed load the washer or dishwasher, then turn around and chase her down before she tries to put dog food in her mouth or eat Jake's work boots. If I'm lucky, I don't have to carry her...I can call her and coax her on like a dog to follow me..."c'mon Jennie Jo! Come get momma!" Complete with leg patting...ridiculous. At that point, I usually have our two dogs following right along too.

Speaking of doing laundry- Jake, your load of clothes is in the washer still. From Tuesday. The laundry fairy refuses to visit until you re-wash those clothes since they stink from sitting in the washer for well over 48 hours now. Also, after you wash clothes, you have to put them in the dryer or hang them up to dry. Which means when they dry, you have to fold them and put them away. I know it has been a couple of years since you have done a load of laundry, so I wanted to remind you how it works. Again, the laundry fairy is on strike. And pretty soon the dish fairy as well as vacuuming fairy will be too because she is pretty angry about the laundry fairy not visiting.

Bed time fairy is making her rounds...Jennie is asleep, Jake just fell asleep on the couch. Hope she visits me soon :)

When are you ready?

I'm blogging before 10pm...this feels strange. Jennie decided that she only wanted to take one nap today, so she has been out for almost 40 minutes already. I'm hoping she is down for the night, not just taking an extended nap. Waking up at 2am is not my favorite thing to do anymore. Hell, it never was to begin with.

Speaking of 2am wake up calls, I think Jake is missing them. Guess who decided to pop the "are we ready for baby #2?" question on me a while back? Yea, that's right. NOT ME. Jake. Seriously, our relationship roles are so reversed, and apparently daddy has the itch. I knew it would happen sooner or later since he has been having a hard time dealing with fact that he will be a father to a one year old next month. Like, every time I bring up the fact that we need to start planning her birthday party, he changes the subject. But his question has got me thinking about what it's like to have 2 kids. Or 3, or 9, like I want. I'm having an inner battle with myself as we speak- I want a large family, but don't feel ready for our next baby yet. Jake jokes that he is going to get "the cut" after 2 kids, and I say he has to find me more baby-daddies then but how can I want a houseful of kids when I have a heart attack thinking about getting pregnant again? I had such an easy pregnancy with Jennie so that isn't the problem. Although I know alot of my friends who are pregnant right now are having a really hard time (yea Kim, your current pregnancy is scaring the crap outta me!) I guess everything that I'm afraid of is what EVERYONE is afraid with during all of their pregnancies. I think with your first pregnancy, the new-ness of the experience blocks out some of the negative thoughts.

Oh, guess what, Jennie is awake. And crabby. Looks like a long night ahead...

Wordless Wednesday

"Supermom"

I just watched a commercial for Steak-n-Shake that featured a mom driving her kids to the restaurant in a minivan, and she turns into a Cat Woman-looking, bat-out-of-hell-driving badass, complete with a maneuver in which she slides her minivan under a semi, shaving off the top of the vehicle. Then she ends up in front of Steak-n-Shake, all normal looking again, and the masculine voice over comes on: "Mom + Steak-n-Shake" = Supermom.

So, you become a Supermom by putting your kids in danger through reckless driving to get them some of the unhealthiest food on the planet?

Mmmmkkkk. I'll get right on that. I always thought being a supermom meant you can work 40+ hours a week, be home in time to get dinner on the table, get said dinner cleaned up and dishes done, start baths for your kids, all while looking impossibly gorgeous for your husband who is sitting on the couch? Sorry, my bad. I'll go buy a minivan now.

Ever since I became a mom I have despised the term Supermom. Seriously, who can live up to those expectations? I try, trust me...I work 8+ hours everyday, get home, start dinner, change Jennie's diaper and give her a bottle, and do the dishes that somehow, magically, appear from after dinner the night before and the whole day while we are both at work... (*cough cough* Jake, wash your dishes from breakfast please. Also, even though you do sometimes wash your dishes, you have to move the dirty bottles in the sink to do that. Just wash the damn bottles too!) And I do all that before Jake gets home. Like tonight- I made dinner, cleaned up dinner, we both did play with Jennie before bed, I got her pjs on, Jake tried to get her to sleep but she wanted nothing to do with him tonight so I was the one who finally knocked her out. Not literally. Now guess who is sitting here blogging while someone sleeps on the couch? I find it funny that no one has thought to coin the term Superdad. Probably because to be be considered a Superdad, all you have to do is change ONE poopy diaper.

Isn't it crazy how we have come so far when it comes to women's, and mom's, rights, and yet in this day and age, men are still considered "awesome" if they do change ONE diaper? In that case, almost every dad I know can call himself Superdad. But most of us moms struggle to even give ourselves credit in one area- wife, mom, friend, etc. I'm right there with you all, but c'mon, it wouldn't be fair to men if we could do EVERYTHING by ourselves, right? ;) So screw being a Supermom. I want to be the mom my daughter wants me to be. I want to be the mom my daughter just wants, period. She is growing so much by the day, and the independence is killing me. Never thought I would say that, either!

Wordless Wednesday

An introduction, and shameless plug :)

I am very honored that Kelly asked me to help with her coupon blog while she is out of town for the next couple days. Honored, and nervous as all get out! 1300 followers, compared to my measly 600? Hopefully both of our numbers increase over the next couple of days, as I would hope that some of my readers will "like" her page, and vice versa :) Here's just a little bit about myself, and how I know Kelly...

My name is Leslie and my blog is based on my experiences as a new mom to a 10 month old baby girl. And just as a heads-up, my blog isn't always as "family friendly" as Northern Illinois Couponing Moms, aka I curse. Alot. (You're welcome Kelly, didn't want to offend anyone!) but as long as I am a guest on NCIL, I vow to watch my language. Again, you're welcome Kelly. I have been working at a daycare in Davis Junction, IL for nearly 5 years now, and that is how I met Kelly. She brought her daughter to the center, and I taught her all kinds of naughty things to say and do, and I'm sure Kelly thanks me for that everyday. I really do miss having her daughter around- when you work with kids, there are some that you have instant connections with and her daughter was one of them. Kelly has become a friend to me, as well as a mentor, sounding board, teacher, and I think we have a mutual stalking situation going on- I religiously follow her couponing trips, and she is always commenting on my blog, usually something along the lines of "ahahahahaha, I so know what you mean!"

Couponing was never of interest to me until I realized that it's not just about me anymore, which was about the time I found out I was pregnant. When I was pregnant, I ate a lot of cereal. Let me re-phrase that: I should own half of Kellogg's and General Mills with the amount of cereal I ate while baking my cupcake. But I got all of the boxes super cheap, because Kelly taught me how :) And I never looked back- I'm not an extreme couponer, but I have cut my grocery bill by 50% at least, every month. But I also still consider myself to be a beginner- I make mistakes, or get home and realize I should have bought this with that coupon. Whatever...I consider any savings to be of importance, especially when I have to spend a ba-jillion dollars on diapers and formula every month. I also have to cut spending in some areas to be able to afford my hobby. And my hobby is Jason Aldean. I attend his concerts, and am a pretty big fan, to say the least...Kelly, you said I could put a picture of him up, so I am:)

(Me and Jason in Madison, WI, 2010)

Ok, enough about me. Can't wait to interact with all of you on NCIL, and let's hope it's a learning experience for me, and not a "Kelly's website is going down in flames because Leslie has no idea what she's doing" experience...

Wordless Wednesday

Enough said. Once you have a little one, you never get to "sit down" again...