Mommy Job Hazzard: Sometimes You Get Pooped On

I almost forgot to share this little nugget--Christmas day at my parents' house, Everleigh pooped on me. And not just kind of. The girl somehow managed to get poop in 3 different locations on my shirt, in addition to covering the lap of my jeans.

I was doing OK with it on my shirt ("this happens. she didn't mean to", etc.) until I saw it on my pants too. I had to pass her off to daddy and make a bee-line for the restroom. Good thing my mom and dad love me and didn't care. Too bad my mom recently lost a gang of weight and donated or gave away any and all her clothes over a size 6. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a "big girl", but my desk job/grad school/pregnancy have certainly bumped me up to a healthy Midwestern physique ;) So after telling my mom not to worry about trying to have me cram my caboose into her "I do Weight Watchers and run 5 miles a day" pants, I was given a Hawaiian-themed kimono to sport until my poop-clothes made it out of the wash.

Then all was right with the world again. I guess I should be glad this has only happened once, as I'm sure others are not so lucky. I just wanted to let you all in on what Evie got me for Christmas!

Look How Cute My Baby Is ;)

Sorry I don't have much to say guys! The Alice show went really well and I had a blast kicking it with my old friends. The downside? I got "the call" as I was stepping off stage (at 11:45 at night) that Evie missed me and was refusing to sleep and would only remain calm if she was being walked around. So, I didn't get to stay and soak up the laughs or the applause. Frankly, I left before even getting paid. All I heard was that my baby needed me. After rushing to her side and giving her some magic mom milk, she dropped right out.  Sigh.

Here's the rub about trying to venture back out into the world a little post-baby-- you can still have a good time, but your heart is at home with your little one. And sometimes all the hoops you have to jump through in order to have those 3 hours out make the whole thing seem like more work than it's worth. Anyways, I'm not bummed--I had a really amazing time! But I also realized it wasn't realistic for me to try and play out a ton right now while Ev's so little. Maybe Scott and I can use this time to focus on our little side-project family-style called Moonhead...

Playing music is definitely easier if you're at your own house collaborating with your spouse while your baby plays on the floor next to you.

OK, happy Wednesday everyone! Enjoy the new baby pics I took with my awesome little easy snap Canon PowerShot that Scotti got me for Christmas. Peace and Love!




Evie's "My First Christmas" dress




Christmas Eve naked Santa baby



Christmas Day--she loved the bows and paper more than anything

Wearing the awesome custum outfit her Auntie Kristen got her for Christmas

Everleigh and Mommy snuggling up in our comfies

Back on Stage

Rachel and Me gearing up for the show!

The view from the stage

Alice and Absinthe. Can you say sugar cube please?

Goofing off before the show

Tonight, my old band, Alice is playing a show! My bandmate Rachel is back in town for the holidays visiting family, so we scheduled a little shindig at a local hangout called Cafe Acoustic. The show will actually NOT be acoustic, but...ah well :) We picked this venue because it's a place Rachel and I used to go and jam together before we were a "band", and also because it's been so long since we played as a group, we wanted to keep the show low-key, with lots of friends, family, and old-school fans.

This will be my first show with the band since I officially became a mommy! Rachel moved to Eugene, OR last spring when I was still pregnant with Evie. It was OK timing actually, because I was getting big and feeling slightly weird hanging out in bars, plus it was getting progressively more and more dificult to stay up late enough to play (concerts usually don't begin until at LEAST 10PM, and my pregnant bedtime was like 8). Plus it's tricky playing a guitar when your stomach is sticking way out. Although I've seen some men who've been quite successful at making it work :)

I am SO excited about tonight! Mostly because I miss my bandmates and the way it feels to collaborate, but also I'd be lying if I didn't also say that I miss the stage. I love singing and performing, and I miss the way it feels to have the lights on you and everyone watching. Or to look out and see people in the audience singing along to the words I wrote. Awesome. Plus, I don't think I've had a single night out with friends (besides my husband) since Evie was born, so this will be a really nice way for me to get some friend time in too.

Now for the most important question: what do I wear???? Taking a half-day at work today, so I should have some time to figure it out, then we're having an afternoon practice, and the show at 10. I can't wait!

PS: I'll post show pics and maybe even some vid from the show tomorrow. Promise.

The Best Christmas Ever of All Time :)

Folks, I have to say--this was the most magical Christmas I've had since I was a little kid. We didn't do anything fancy or give/receive the finest gifts imaginable. But we were a little tiny family--me, Scotti, and Evie-- and that was gift enough for me.

I remember the magic of the holidays as a kid--going to see Santa at the mall, making a wish list, hoping (and praying) that I would get that ONE amazing Barbie/Strawberry Shortcake Doll/Cabbage Patch Kid I had asked for. Listening to Christmas records on my mom and dad's huge record player console thing while the scent of my mother baking warm sugar cookies drifted down the hall. Helping my mom decorate the tree, helping my dad put small pieces of wood into our fireplace, attempting to crack chestnuts and walnuts. Going to church for the Christmas service, singing carols with my sisters, going over to my Grammies for Christmas Eve, eating a yummy Christmas dinner with my family. Waking up crazy-early on Christmas to open our gifts, and the excitement I felt. My dad reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to us and doing silly voices. Seeing all the lights and the sights and smelling all those amazing Christmas smells--turkey, cookies, pie, cinnamon, candy canes, the fire in the fireplace, the pine tree--all blending together to create a beautiful scent that could make a grown man cry.

But as time went on, I got older (shocker), and the magic of Christmas really took a dive. Our "teenage" Christmas lists became pretty specific: "I want the blue and yellow hoodie from PacSun in a size Medium. It is $44, but is on sale the weekend before Christmas for $35" etc. We thought we were too cool for our parents and that Christmas was about putting up with embarrassing family events, being dragged to church, and receiving a few gifts that may or may not be the right thing.

While the approach to Christmas became less selfish as I got into my twenties, the magic still felt like it was gone for good. But I tell you, this year it was back. Having Everleigh made me feel so connected again with all the fun and beautiful traditions from my childhood, and even though she was too little this year to know what was going on most of the time, it still felt so special.

We spent Christmas Eve with Scott's family, which was lovely, and then after spending some time Christmas morning at the house (opening gifts, relaxing, taking pictures of Evie), we headed out to my familie's Christmas dinner (where I was responsible for cooking a 26 lb turkey!). I had so much fun just being with my family, and seeing my daughter interact with my sisters. It really did my heart good.

Later that night at home, a sense of ultimate contentment settled in, as Ev drifted off to sleep and my husband and I cuddled on the couch by the glow of the Christmas tree lights.

Merry Christmas Lawrence Welk Style

Image by WelkMusicalFamily

This weekend, Everleigh and I found ourselves with nothing but time and a 1985 Christmas reunion of the Lawrence Welk Show on PBS.

For those of you not familiar with the show, it was a super creepy good-ol' fashion fun kind of song-and-dance performance show in the 1950's, 60's, and 70's. It mostly reminds me of my early childhood church experiences, but it's fun to watch primarily for the hair, makeup, and outfit choices.

Well, Miss Evie and I seized the opportunity to hone our kitchen dancing skills. She really makes a heck of a partner :)

By the way--her favorite Christmas song so far? Deck the Halls. Why? I really think it's because she LOVEs watching people's mouths do the "fa-la-la" shapes. It always makes her smile.

On that note, I hope you're all having fun prepping for the big day and still taking time out to dance in your kitchen once in awhile!

Erika

Everleigh's New Trick

Guess whose 6 month old baby plays the kazoo?

Mine!

Her papa taught her how it works, and now she loves it :)

She especially loves playing along while daddy plays the guitar. She's not quite in tune yet, but I'm pretty sure it will come with time.

I just had to share her new bizarre baby trick with you all. Happy Friday!

Holiday Wish List

Lately I've been searching high and low for some special gifts for little Miss Everleigh's very first Christmas! Here's my Etsy wish list:

Personlized Organic Sapling Stacker by littlesaplingstoys' shop



Adorable Build Your Own Coat for baby  by theonnutmegotree's shop



Amazing paper doll set by one of my favs, theblackapple

Wooden Guitar Teether by littlesaplingtoys' shop 

Vintage Wind-Up Bath Toys by ChelsO89

And for Mama:

Perfect 50's party dress by Thrush

Pretty vintage train case sold by jherrmann

Beautiful locket by FreshyFig

Summer Breeze paper poms for Evie's room by PartyPoms

A Case of the Mondays

Two Monday's ago, my little fam took our first mini-baby-road-trip (only 2 and a half hours away) to a small town in southern MO so mama could work. While I knew from the onset that this would likely NOT be the most amazing, exotic vacay of all time, I also had high hopes that it would be a fun little family get-away.

Miss Everleigh Harper was an absolute doll in the car, which was a blessing since she usually hates car rides, and that's about where the good time ended. It started pouring rain--like the heavens opened and dumped the motherload-- kind of rain. We had to pull over at one point cause we couldn't see and there were semi's all over the road. Ev thought it was neat.

So I got to my work site late (a small University campus), while daddy and Evie hit the hotel room. I was trying to shake off the rough start and get into the groove of my event, when I discovered one of my "patients" (an actor) for the event was sick in real life and wouldn't be able to work. This happens sometimes, but not usually when we're out of town. So I was scrambling. Also, Ev was scared by her new environment and lack of ME, and was crying and basically had to be walked in circles around the small hotel room to stay calm. So if I could get the chance to get away and pop in at the hotel, that would be great...

On my way back to the work site, I apparently left my car in neutral, and it started slowly rolling down the parking lot as I crossed the street. The lunch sandwich I got had some weird sauce on it (sweet and sour on roast beef?) and tasted terrible. My cell phone started dying and I realized I had forgotten the charger at home. It was one of THOSE days.

But you know what? I still had fun swimming in the hotel pool with my little girly and tickling her on the bed, bathing her in the tub and snuggling her to sleep.

And I realized how absolutely happy I am to be a mom. Without her, my trip would have been an absolute bust, but instead it was a mostly-bad but also kind of special time.

It also made me really excited about quitting my job, and starting in a new position IN MY FIELD!!! I received an offer the day before Thanksgiving to go work for a behavioral health facility in town, where I will start as a case manager while I work on my licence, with the opportunity to become a full-fledged therapist there within a year or so. This is so awesome, because it's really my passion to work in a thrapeutic setting and I'm so happy to be getting one step closer to my career goals. Next step? Finish my Play Therapy Certification, get my LPC licence, start a private practice, become a consultant, teach at a University, write a book, have more time to spend with my family while making bank. A girl can dream right?

Dear Everleigh (6 Months!)

Dear Everleigh,

This month you learned to say "Mum", and even though I'm not exactly sure you know what it means or how to use it properly, it warms my heart every time I hear it. Why "Mum"? Ever since you were born, you seemed really British (weird, I know)...in fact, when I got my first look at you, I may have even said something to the effect of, "she looks like a British guy". But a beautiful, feminine British guy ;) Plus, you seemed especially fascinated with the British flag hanging in the little shop, Brits, we visited in Lawrence KS. ANYWAYS, all that to say, the "Mum" vs. "Mom" thing wasn't a huge surprise. I'm half hoping you'll end up with a British accent, although I'm pretty sure that's not the way it works.

This month  you also started saying "Da-da" and "a-boo" (for peek-a-boo). You are quite the talker missy. You love to talk and you love people. This is kind of great but poses the need for a lot of "stranger danger" talks later.

You just keep getting more and more lovable and kissable by the day. This month, you started trying your first foods, and you are so curious. So far, you've pretty much loved every kind of food you've tried (you get this from "mum"), and you even try to steal other people's food when they look away--pizza, turkey sandwiches, chips, nothing is off limits for you in your mind.

You went swimming for the first time this week and  got so excited about the splash-factor, that you were pounding the water with both hands and kicking at the same time. You splashed with such purpose and commitment, that you also splashed water in your own face. This didn't slow you down one bit...you just blinked and kept on splashing! I think I've mentioned this before, but you seem very tough and your shoulders look really buff, which was pretty adorable and also a little weird in your baby swimsuit--you looked like a little baby gymnast.

Also, your papa had an old band mate in town for a visit--a lead guitar player, so you got to hear lots of music this week and you loved it! You seem especially fond of guitar solos, so maybe you'll be a little rocker. When I was about 39 weeks pregnant with you, your papa and I were watching a Stevie Ray Vaughan concert on PBS, and every time a big guitar solo came on, you danced your little bootie off. Then when it switched back to vocals, you stopped. This happened several times and was pretty fun to watch. While I've never been a huge Stevie Ray fan, I understand that you go way back :) Then last night, you were having trouble sleeping, and daddy took you downstairs and turned on the TV. You sat and watched an Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar jam special, and according to papa, you stared at the screen, captivated. Then, after the special was over, you fell right to sleep to have musical baby dreams.

In case you can't tell, I think you're the cats pajamas. You have so many fun and interesting personality traits already--I'm so excited to see how you change this next month.

Love,

Mama