NaNoWriMo!!

NaNoWriMo begins today!

For those not familiar with it, it is National Novel Writing Month. I'm supposed to write every day for the entire month of November, at the end of which I will hopefully have a rough (very rough) draft of my first novel.

I am an aspiring writer, as some of you may know, so I don't think I need to tell you how very excited I am about the prospect of transferring my vision onto the page.

But I had to take a moment out of my busy writing schedule to share a few cute pics with you. After all, this blog is about firsts, if nothing else, (it being a mom blog and all), so without further ado, Baby Boy's first Halloween ...


















Oh yeah, and his first trip to the pumpkin' patch ...




I'm in love.

Ok, back to business.

Wish me luck!

So Much Going On ...

Ok, so it's been a while, I know. There's so much to tell, I'm not sure where to start.

First of all, I'm still moving but not to the bloggy knoll I was hoping for. It turns out the illustrator who was designing my new blog-home is no longer available. So instead of moving to shiny new custom-made digs, I'll be moving to a fixer-upper. I'll still be hosting my housewarming though so please keep your eyes open for more information on that.

In baby news, (this is a mom-blog y'all), my lil chocolate chip took his first flight! And I'm happy to report he did wonderfully! He didn't fuss on the outbound or on the return flight home.


The only problem we had was with the car seat the rental car company provided. He's not a fan of being strapped in anyway, but he literally screamed every time I put him into the rental. Note to self: Next time, bring your own car seat!!

I also discovered a great baby rental service that rents baby gear for your destination so you don't have to bring all those extras with you. I was able to rent a walker and a huge bag of toys for the lil one, and it was all dropped off at my hotel, ready and waiting when I checked in. Unbeknownst to me, there are services like this available all over the country and even internationally. I used Baby's A-Go in Boston, but you just need to google baby gear rental and the name of your destination city and you should get a huge list of locations to choose from.

Let's see, what else? Hmmm ...

Baby Boy is now 7 months old!! I can't believe how quickly time flies!! Everyone says it but, like most things, it just doesn't register until you experience it yourself. He's almost 20 pounds and 29 inches. He's cruising already, which means I've got to watch him every second, and he's drooling everywhere, which I'm sure means teeth are coming soon.

Note to my new-mom readers - Fevers are pretty much the norm during this period. Doctors will tell you that babies don't get more than a low-grade fever with the onset of teething but I can tell you that's not the case. Of course, you should check with your own physician if your child has a fever over a 100.4 but my son has had several fevers lately, all due to this teething. His temperament is fine and he continues to be playful but he's more often than not got a bit of a fever. There's also lots of poop.

And finally, thanks to all the ICLW'ers who are dropping by for the first time. I'm not officially participating this month since I'm working on my move but please feel free to leave a comment so I can stop by your place as well.

Chat soon!!
MAK

Baby Stats

Lil Man got his six-month shots today, as well as a flu shot for good measure. He cried when he got them and I cringed, per usual, but he was cool within 30 seconds, so all's well that ends well.

Not much time right now for more than just a quick update on his stats so here we go -

Weight: 18 lbs, 8 oz. (75th percentile)

Height: 28 1/2 inches (95th percentile)

Eating: 1st Stage/2nd Stage Fruits & Veggies; Rice Cereal

Crawling: Everywhere

Standing: Not on his own but definitely testing the waters. (He's been pulling himself up to standing for about 2 weeks.)

Talking: Constantly ... and LOUDLY! hee hee!

So that's it for now. I leave with you with some gorgeous baby goodness.

~ M

Moving Update

Just a short update on 'moving day'.

It's looking like I'll be moving a little bit closer to November versus the October move I initially mentioned.

(For those of you not familiar with my move, please click here for details)"Moving".

Which means that my housewarming will be put off as well. Oh well, good things come to those who wait, isn't that what they say?

Rather than make you wait for the actual move, I thought maybe I should reward your patience with a little hint about the "housewarming".

So here goes:

What's like a coat of paint, a big ole hug and is full of wonderful things to say?

Any idea?

Fresh & new... warm & fuzzy?

Nothin'?

Full of wonderful things to say?

I'm accepting your guesses in the comments section.

")

Happy Blogoversary... TO ME!!!

Two years ago I decided to started blogging about my TTC journey. I knew I'd want to be able to look back over my experiences during that time so it seemed like the obvious thing to do.

Now, looking back over all the posts I've written, I'm so happy I took the time to document everything it took to make me a mommy.

As a special blogoversary 'gift' to my followers, I thought I'd share some of my favorite posts from both of my blogs, Ova-EZ & Mommy 'Hood.

If even one person gets inspired/overjoyed/empowered/moved to tears, then I've done my job.

")

So link up, check 'em out and please feel free to pay 'em forward.

HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY!!!!


1st comes love, then comes marriage...

My Horizon

Wonder Woman

Juneteenth

Message Received

Honeychild - A Haiku

Are You there, Lord, It's Me, MAK

4 Months Old

Change

Change

Six Months.

SIX MONTHS?!?!

Where did the time go?!?

Six months ago I had no idea what I was doing. I had no clue what it took to be a mom, or even if I could really pull it off.

But here we are, six months later, and we're doin' it & doin't it & doin' it well. (If I do say so myself - LOL!)

But seriously folks, six months ago today I gave birth to a child I only ever dreamed of having, and started my journey into the 'hood. I didn't know then how much my life would change. I didn't understand how much I would love this little person. I didn't know how truly overwhelmed I would be simply by looking into his eyes. I had no idea how much it would please me to have him look back into mine. I mean really look at me and know I'm his momma. I couldn't have understood how huge my heart would feel inside my chest, or that the love inside it would feel like it could burst through at any moment, just because he smiled at me. I didn't think that seeing him roll over for the first time could make my heart jump & skip a beat at the same time. Or that hearing him cry could break my heart so easily.

I couldn't have known how jealous I'd be of any other person he smiled at, (including my hubby), or how equally happy it would make me to see him be so open to others. I didn't understand how wrapped up my own happiness would be in his, or how empty I'd be when he wasn't around. I didn't think I could possibly be any more anxious for the end of a work day, or any more eager to do it all.

I didn't know how much my life would change.

But I can tell you it changed for the better.

Something to Write About

There's so much going on, I'm not sure where to start.

I'm in the process of trying to simplify my life, clearing out the clutter, making things more efficient. Why, you ask? Because I'm gearing up for November, which is NaNoWriMo.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. As you may or may not know, I'm not just a mommy-blogger, I'm also an aspiring novelist. And this November I'm going to attempt to write an entire novel in 30 short days. I know, I know, that's crazy. But I'm nothing if not crazy so, of course, I signed up.

I've got to complete at least 50,000 words between November 1st and November 30th. That sounds really daunting, and it is. But the good thing is that content and structure and even plot don't matter. The only thing that matters is getting the novel written so you end up with a rough (very rough) first draft of your novel. This rough (very rough) draft will then be a jumping off point for you to begin the long (very long) editing process.

So in order for me to be able to accomplish this feat, I must have a clear mind. And in order for me to have a clear mind, I must have a clear house - or, at the very least, a clear pathway to the bathroom.

But I digress.

Ahem ...

This clearing out means completely changing my surroundings - everything from the shower curtain in the bathroom to the sheets on the bed. The old throw rugs are getting tossed, as are the drapes in the living room. Out goes the old bed frame, and in comes the handwritten wall decal as a headboard. I even change the scent in my plug-in oil warmers.

Clearing everything out gives me a chance to periodically re-order my life. It's like a reset button or, (wait for it ...), a fresh piece of paper upon which I can write my prose.

(Don't you just love when you come full-circle like that?)

Aside from all the reorganizing and decluttering, there's lots of baby stuff going on. (This is a mom-blog you know.)

Baby boy is getting so big and hitting all kinds of milestones. He's crawling all over the place and even pulling himself up onto furniture already. I thought I had another 4 or 5 months before this stuff started happening! He's only 5 months old! We just had our first family photo shoot, and it was wonderful to be able to capture what a rambunctious little boy he is.

As for his appetite, solids are now on the menu. His faves at the moment are sweet potatoes, pears and applesauce. He's not a big fan of peas and squash just yet, but we're going to try again soon.

Other than that, my main concern is keeping him occupied and engaged. I'm constantly getting him new books and toys so he won't get bored. His favorite toy hands-down is his stuffed lion from his daddy's alma mater. He absolutely loves it. He also loves playing with his basketball and the pully-frog thing that hangs from his bouncy.

Hitting all these milestones is hard work so it's not hard to believe that we literally have to wake him up in the morning. He's so happy, and he sleeps so soundly and peacefully that I know we've got to be doing something right.

Now that's something to write about.