It happened! I'm heading out for a date with the husband!! Things look very different than they used to. Before kids: I take a long shower to make sure I am exfoliated, groomed, hair deep conditioned and clean. I look all through my closet to find the perfect sexy little dress to wear. It takes a while as I need to try on multiple outfits for just the right one. I take my time doing my makeup and hair making sure every strand is in place, and my makeup is flawless. The husband makes reservations at a restaurant that is delicious, expensive and will probably not have any kids there. They don't even have a kids menu! I go out with my love and linger over dinner, spending hours sipping wine and enjoying each others company. After kids: I nurse the baby down for a nap and and ask my big kid to watch the toddler so I can shower. I shower quickly because I am on borrowed time...the baby could wake up in 5 minutes or 2 hours. I just never know. Wait...is that the baby? Covered in soap I jump out and investigate to reveal a sleeping angel. Dumb phantom cries. I jump back in and hose myself off. I quickly look through my closet for something cute and sexy to wear. Wait, it has to have boob access so I can nurse the baby and not flash the whole restaurant. Surely I have something that's cute as well? Finally after sifting through clothes that still don't fit after birthing that 3rd baby, and things that I cant nurse in, I settle on something. I do not get dressed yet, that's a total rookie move. I have to get dressed 10 min before we leave the house, otherwise the toddler will get me sticky and the baby will poop, spit up, or slobber all over me. I end up with a few minutes to spare. Oh! I'll put on makeup and do my hair! But wait...where is my makeup? I haven't worn it for so long I don't even know where it is. I find some lipstick and eyeliner and call it good. I don't have time to do my hair now, I wasted time looking for the missing makeup. It's ok, I just need a run a brush through it. Hubby makes a reservation at a yummy restaurant that will definitely have kids since the nursing baby is coming along on our date. The husband gets home from work and the sitter arrives. I run upstairs to get dressed while the toddler howls downstairs. He just figured out we were leaving without him. We fly out the door and enjoy our dinner with our baby interloper. Its short, but sweet. Do I miss the pre-kid dates ? Of course! BUT I know this time with the littles is fleeting. I know soon enough I will be able to have dates like that again. Until then...its nursing friendly shirts and hurried dates. I'm so blessed to have such an awesome family.
0 Comments
I love to sew! Unfortunately with running my own business and chasing kids I don't find any time to sew really. When Trinity was a toddler I realized pretty quickly that she would be tall and skinny like me and her dad. When I was a kid I never had pants or dresses or skirts that fit because of my size. So as Trinity got leaner and leaner I decided to learn to sew so I could make things for my sweet daughter. Fast forward to today. Trinity is going to a camp that requires a one piece bathing suit. This is problematic as they just don't fit her. Tankinis still expose her tummy due to her height, so that wasn't an option. So I decided to alter a bikini and turn it into a swim dress! I had never done it before, or even sewn with bathing suit material...but I decided I was doing it anyways! We got the same bikini she already had because we already knew it fit her great. This is what we started with: Super cute right?? I began by having Trinity put the bathing suit on backwards and pinning the extra fabric onto the suit. I ended up having to do this twice because I didn't realize how stretchy that fabric really is. I only poked Trinity with a pin a few times. Once I got that that all pinned and Trinity was terrified with the amount of pins close to her, I added a bit of fabric to make the top less revealing: Trinity very gingerly wiggled out of it and I began to sew! I was having some major problems sewing at first. I had to go through 3 different kinds of thread before I found one that wouldn't drop stitches like crazy and do odd stuff. The color wasn't what I wanted for the thread, but at that point I was over it and just wanted this thing sewn up. Whew! So far I am very pleased. Yes, I have dropped, jagged stitches but it's still looking cool! No onto making more moving room on the skirt part. I cut the skirt to insert panels! The top of the panels got a bit wonkey, but I can fix that. Somehow the back panels look better. Caleb also decided to photobomb haha. Now I just have to shorten and hem! DONE!
It took about....2 hours from start to finish. Its not perfect but I am super proud of myself! Trinity loves it and wore it to a pool party already. It held up fine and worked great. I love trying new things! I haven't been online much in the past week and a half because my mom was visiting from California. She met the baby, we hung out and did normal daily stuff. We visited my sister in New Hampshire. We had lots of fun and many adventures. She even got to see the baby roll over for the first time! I decided to just mostly unplug and just enjoy our time with her.
I have a really interesting family. We are all over the place. I was born in Southern California, then moved to Central California as a baby. I grew up there. After graduation I moved to New Hampshire to live with my mom for a bit (parents divorced when I was 6). I met DJ at a festival in Pennsylvania and he lived in New Jersey. Within the year I had moved to NJ to be with DJ. I was 19 and clearly insane. Many family members of mine have similar stories...this happened, that happened and they ended up moving away. We just don't stay where we are raised for the most part. I've got an aunt in Kansas, my dad is in Washington State, my mom is back in California, my cousin in in Las Vegas, another Aunt in Colorado.... we just don't stay where we started. We are very independent people who go after what we want. Despite the distance my family is very close. We would do anything for each other. I haven't seen my cousin Jennifer in years and I could show up at her front door. She would be shocked and probably faint... but after she picked herself off the floor she would usher me inside and feed me. Most of the time living far from everyone doesn't bother me too much. I'm just used to it. I go about my daily life and if I miss someone, I call them. Facebook has been great to keep up with everyone's lives and help me feel connected. There are times though, where it's very lonely and I miss my family intensely. Usually it's at a milestone: the birth of a baby, a baby shower, housewarming party for our new house, a birthday. It's those moments when I look at all my beautiful friend's faces knowing my family isn't there. I have some of the best friends you can imagine, but to have my aunts at a baby dedication? That would be amazing. Having a ton of family smooshed into my house for Thanksgiving dinner? I would love it. Knowing that my cousin Larl could drop by any time to play in the sandbox with Caleb? Priceless. To have my grandparents be part of my kids lives? I would love it. I do not have "ready made babysitters". Trinity doesn't get to have "cousin time" because me and my sister are having dinner together again. Trinity doesn't get to take off with Grandpa on his motorcycle for a nice long ride. I did not have my mother around to help take care of me after the birth of my kids. It's really hard sometimes... and today is one of those days. I dropped my mom off at the airport yesterday morning to go back home. I saw my sister and niece and nephew this past weekend for a long weekend. They are gone, and I'm sad about it. Having them present with me for a short time makes it all the more noticeable when they are gone. So this post is for my family. ALL of you. Dad, mom, step dad, cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, second cousins and anyone else I share blood with or married into my family. I LOVE YOU ALL. I miss all of you. I wish we could share life together in person. And to the family I chose... you know who you are. Our friends who have become family. Thank you. Thank you for filling the gap and being amazing. Thank you for watching my kids. Thank you for meals after my babies were born. Thank you for cookies. Thank you for housekeeping help. Thank you for being you. I love you guys too. |
AuthorI'm so tired. The children are so not tired. |