Mindless Meanderings of Schroedawg

Lately, it has been difficult to get Madelynne to take a nap by herself. She either wants me to rock her until she nestles her head deep into my arm or blanket, and falls asleep in my arms, or she will not let me leave her side. In any case, I try my hardest to occupy myself until she falls asleep, so I can roll away and get stuff done in the two hour time frame she snoozes, but sometimes I end up crashing with her, due to pure exhaustion. What I love, though, is when she is cuddled up in our bed for naptime, she turns on her side and touches my face. Today, she gently placed her little hand on my cheek and watched my lips move and met my gaze as I sang "In My Life" by the Beatles, "Soft Kitty" from Big Bang Theory, " I See The Moon", her favorite lullaby from her library group, and finally, "Better Together" by Jack Johnson, until she is officially off in dreamland. Then she looks like this, lying across my arm:

Life has really been busy, that I haven't had a lot of "me" time. Well, today is just that. I put everything on the back burner, (looking for jobs, grading, planning, school work), to be sort of lazy and hangout with the hubby and Madelynne. It has been a pretty, chilaxin' sort of day and can't really complain. Next week, it will be back on serious track for life in general (specifically narrowing down a FT job) but I think I'm permitted to take one day off. :) Madelynne and I have had quite the busy schedule. She started solids. Her favorites seem to vary, but she definitely loves sweet potatoes. She is excited to eat and digs sitting in the high chair. She especially likes the fact she can play with the spoon after she's done, while mom eats or finishes getting things done in the kitchen. Close, and limited support NO Pillows! She also has officially begun sitting up mostly by herself, without support. She likes her little sit up chair, but d...

My friend, Erika, posted a blog about choosing a word for the year and I decided to accept the same challenge. I decided my word of 2012 is Motivation. I chose this word because I was in such a slump last year with all the crazy events that happened that I needed a mental facelift. So I’m motivated to be the best mom possible to Madelynne and enjoy the next 7 months until she turns 1, because, *hopefully*, by that time, I will be starting a new teaching job. J Ways in which I've done this already, have been attending local mom groups, such as Little Angels through our church and the library has a baby reading program, as well. I’m also enrolling the two of us into a swim class come February and did Baby Massage for 5 weeks, which was fun! I’m also motivated to keep up with my diet and exercise regime. I joined Weight Watchers Online, which transformed my life 3 years ago. I figured, it forced me to be accountable and it allowed me some wiggle room with my eating, so I never felt...

With January just around the corner, here is the update from the Schroeder clan. We ventured to Colorado for a much needed vacation and to celebrate Christmas with my family. My dad had not yet Maddie and either had my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. The flight, both ways, went great. I was nervous about being one of “those parents”, whose child cries the entire flight and you don’t have the Dre Beats headphones to drown out the sound. We were fortunate for her to sleep most of the way or to wake up and giggle, and then be sweet the majority of the flight. The flight attendants were in love with her, which gave us brownie points with them at least. J Uncle Joe and Aunt Lindsey with Madelynne Posing by a display Being a gorilla Cousins We were lucky to bypass a winter storm that hit most of Wednesday, but dumped a fairly large amount of snow in the greater Denver area. The whole ordeal got me nervous and made me think about the year my nephew was born in 2006 and the...

The past two months have really flown and it is hard to believe that December is already here. It is equally hard to believe that Madelynne will be 4 months in a little less than 2 weeks. She has definitely changed and her personality is prominent. She has a temper if she doesn't get her way, but then will smile, coo, and talk to you like you're the greatest thing in the world. She bicycles her legs to move herself around her play mat, and holds a steady neck and head up when she is on her Boppy pillow during tummy time.  She is developing fast, grasping and playing with objects, discovering body parts, and rocking from side to side. I know, eventually, she will roll over, but when other mom's post that their little ones, who were born after Madelynne, are already at that benchmark, I cringe in mini-worry that she is "falling behind" and then remind myself, of the little emblazoned statement at bottom of  each Baby Center Weekly Email update I get that "every...

Madelynne has reached the two month mark and routine has been established within the Schroeder household. At five weeks, I was beginning to second guess myself as a mom, wondering if I would ever get the hang of this. I felt like a juggler trying to balance planning for my college courses I’m teaching, continuously looking for full time work (Wyoming or Colorado would be very nice!!), working on my PhD, and being a mom.   I was awed by the constant give and take that stay at home mom’s deal with every day. It is not easy to stay at home. But it is also not easy to be a professional, working mom, as well. I am lucky to fall somewhere in the middle, yet I realize what a task it has been to find a sense of balance with all that is on my plate. In the past two months, I have taken away three graces in my time with Madelynne. The first of these is to go with the flow, which ties in with the idea of releasing my control over situations. I hate not knowing what the outcome or future wil...