Passion for Repurpose

My goodbye cake from work 😭. 

Everyone wants to know how being a stay at home mom is going. Well, I was questioning this decision on Day 2 when Quinn had spent approximately 36 hours attached to my hip like a baby shaped appendage. The extra clingy days are rough. Really though, I haven’t yet gotten to experience a full week of my new normal. My last day at work was on a Wednesday and this past week Philip took vacation days for most of the week. I’ll have to report back. Someone should probably check in on me though in the meantime; Quinn is developing some super annoying habits 🤣. Like anytime I sit on the floor with him or just crouch down to do anything (including picking up messes that he’s made 🤦🏻‍♀️), he tries to push me over. He gets mad if I don’t let him but if I do, he lifts up my shirt and pokes my belly button 🙄. He has started pushing Philip, the dogs, and other children, too. He thinks it’s hilarious. We thought it was funny when he tortured Soph a bit with trying to grab her tail but now he’s doing it to Sansa also. Her tail is a much bigger target and he’s a much better walker so he can get a pretty good hold. She tries to ditch him but he just holds on for the ride like he’s on a mechanical bull. She whips him around pretty good sometimes. We’re trying to stop this “game” because he could actually hurt her tail and not to mention, she takes enough of his shit 🤷🏻‍♀️. 

Don’t let that cute face fool you. 

As if having a baby attached to me 24/7 isn’t draining enough, when I sit down on the floor to play with him, I have another baby who demands my attention:

🙄🙄🙄. 

Sometimes when he falls down he just lays there all dramatic like and waits for someone to pick him up. I know the saying goes, “Save the drama for your mama,” but no thanks, I’m good 😉.

He fell by slipping on the bath toys he dumped all over the the floor and then laid there expecting me to pick him up. We had a talk about natural consequences 😂. 

He was tired 🙄😂. 

He climbs on EVERYTHING. A few weeks ago I had moved the chair outside to avoid the sun and he saw that as a prime opportunity to use it as a step to get onto the hot tub cover 🙀. Luckily we were right there when he decided to try it or that could have ended badly. He constantly wants put on the furniture and hits the cushion with both hands to indicate that he wants up. I made him stairs by stacking two aerobics steps so that he can get on the chair by himself. Sansa wishes I didn’t, I’m sure 😂. 

 He discovered he can drag stuff so things go missing all the time—the hamper, a bag of trash (filled with styrofoam and cardboard only, luckily), empty boxes, etc. 

Just dragging his bag of trash around the house 🤦🏻‍♀️.
This ended in a time out because he got so upset with me when I took it that he smacked me in the face. 🤬😩

Bedtime is still a mess and evolving. I’ve started taking him into our bed to put him to sleep because rocking him usually results in him flopping all over me like a fish out of water, trying to get comfortable. Once he falls asleep I take him to his crib, where he sleeps until he wakes up and then comes back to our bed 🤦🏻‍♀️. Ugh. Someone tell me he won’t sleep with us forever 🙏🏻🤞🏻. The other night I woke up because he had crawled up on top of me to sleep. In my sleep disturbed state I started thinking about koalas and how grateful I am to not be a marsupial because he would be all up in my pouch 😂🤷🏻‍♀️.

My bedtime view 🤦🏻‍♀️

I do love those nap time snuggles though 😍. 

He does have some habits that are cute and not irritating, like anytime he sees a bink, he automatically has to switch it out with the one that’s in his mouth. He knows where we keep them—assuming they aren’t all lost, which is typical most days—and he’ll go to the edge of the counter and grunt until we let him pick a new one 😂. He has learned how to play hide and seek, usually being the seeker but will sometimes crouch down behind the ottoman when told to hide. When you ask him where someone went, like when they’re hiding, he’ll stick his arms out in a shrug, as if saying, “I don’t know” before he goes to look for them. He loves to put hats on his head. Well, he loves to have *us* put hats on his head. He walks around all proud of himself 😂. 

This is like the 4th pic of him in these pajamas and they’re not all from the same day. Apparently he’s extra dramatic when he wears them. Noted. lol 

He waves to EVERYONE. It’s fun to see how people react to him. Most light up, smiling and waving back. We were on our front porch the other day and he saw two women walking at the end of the block. He waved to them until they got in front of our house. He’s a pretty persistent waver. For some reason he likes to hit his ribs and insists on us imitating him. It makes him laugh when we do it back. He’s also just generally super adorable and lovable. He’s really into giving kisses now, too 🥰. 

Being at home has sparked my creativity, mostly because I’d go crazy if I didn’t have a project to focus on (aside from, ya know, keeping that baby alive and all 😉). That brings me to my repurpose project and I’m super excited about it. It’s actually not finished, which would usually mean I wouldn’t show you just yet but I’m going to. It’s the first and there will be a second and possibly a third. It started because I wanted to get Quinn a kitchen set. After some searching I couldn’t find one I liked so I decided I could probably just make him one. I looked on Pinterest (of course) and that gave me some ideas. I had a set of plastic drawers that I wasn’t using anymore so I transformed it into a play stove. I painted the frame and drawers and used my Cricut to cut vinyl for the “burners” and oven “window.” Aside from buying handles, I didn’t put any money into it since I had all of the other supplies. I’ll be turning a second one into a sink using a wipe container and leftover PVC parts. Philip assisted today with cutting a hole in the top for the wipe container to drop down in.  I hope to show you the finished product in my next post! 

I still need some knobs though so if anyone has some old ones they want to get rid of, I’d be glad to take them 😉. 

Quinn loves to play with kitchen utensils. Our morning routine includes emptying the dishwasher while I make my pour over coffee. He always grabs a rubber spatula, spoon, or whatever he can get his hands on. He has learned to open drawers and loves the one with measuring cups. This is what kept him occupied for a bit this morning:

Yep, that mess is Quinn made. 

I need some help. Our diaper bin is the grossest smelling thing. It does ~okay~ containing the smell when the lid is closed (mostly) but opening it to put a new diaper in is gag worthy. Philip’s solution to anything stinky is to breathe through his mouth like Darth Vader. However, I prefer to use the natural filtration system in my nose and keep the poop particles out of my mouth. This, of course, means I have to smell it and I have an unusual relationship between my mood and olfactory glands, meaning I get ridiculously annoyed when I smell something unpleasant. Like it pisses me off, for real 😂. So someone, please, please, give me some tips on how to reduce the awful smell of baby shit. Anyone?? 

Life Changes

This was just perfect timing so it looks like he’s giving me a thumbs up. He doesn’t know how to do that yet but obviously we should work on it 😂. 

It’s been a stressful few weeks as I contemplated a big life change and put that plan into motion. I’ve decided to quit my job and stay home with Quinn full time. This decision wasn’t made lightly but Philip and I both feel as though it is the right one. I’ve been at the Center for nearly 8 years, 2 with Head Start and 6 with WCCCF. My co-workers are some of my best friends and more like family. There are so many things I’ll miss— like lunch time talks, where appropriate subjects are never the topic of conversation. Even just having an audience to run things by when I’m feeling like less than the best mother, will be something I’ll miss. I know they’re all still available to me and I never want to lose contact with them. This has been the weirdest year, navigating my first year as a new mother during a world-wide pandemic and now becoming a stay-at-home mom, something I thought I would never want to do. Quinn has changed me though and I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than help him learn and watch him grow. 

He sure has grown in the last 3 weeks, going from walking to practically running, especially when you want him to come to you. He thinks it’s hilarious to take off and have you chase him. He cracks himself up as he makes his way around the circle of our house, thinking he’s staying one step ahead the entire time. His language has really taken off in the last week also. He started saying, “cheeeeeeese,” and smiling all funny, thanks to the coaxing of his cousins. He says “dada” all day long as he uses any object as a phone and holds it to his ear. If he doesn’t have one he’ll pull his bink out of his mouth or even just use his hand. So he ‘calls’ dada all day long but when he wakes up in the middle of the night he magically remembers my name, saying “mama” in his sweet, little pathetic voice. He’s said other words sporadically like, “bath,” “bird,” “dog,” “Ansa (Sansa),” and even what sounded like, “love you.” He says “yes” to any question you ask him but he also lies. I’m beginning to recognize when he actually means it because he shakes his head very emphatically when it’s something he really wants to do. I’m pretty sure he just recently realized that Sophie has a tail. It’s docked, which is unusual for a Dalmatian but we didn’t realize that when we got her so we didn’t think to ask why. I think he’s never noticed it before since it doesn’t smack him all the time like Sansa’s does😂.  When it’s nearing bedtime and he doesn’t want to lay down, his newest favorite game is to chase Sophie around the kitchen and try to grab her tail. If he gets it he giggles hysterically. She’s not a big fan of his game but it’s very amusing to us so unless she gets really agitated, I’m gonna allow it. She earns any torture she gets. Her most annoying habit is to lick your feet while you’re sleeping. I truly believe that she does it to wake us up. If Quinn and I are napping during the day and she’s awake, she’ll come lick my feet. She has also licked Quinn’s through his crib and I wanted to knock her out because she woke him up 🤬. 

Cheeeeeeeeeese. 

His reaction to just having pulled Soph’s tail 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️

And this is one of the reasons why she deserves what she gets 🤪. 

He really does love them though. 😍

And Chloe, too, Mimi’s dog. As well as Bailey, Eme’s dog, and Dory, Mollie’s dog. ❤️ 

In case anyone is wondering, we have made no progress in the sleep department, he’s still going to sleep in his crib every night but then waking up at some point and coming to our bed. I’ve tried many times to put him back to sleep in his crib but it’s like he knows and doesn’t fall back into a deep sleep and immediately wakes up when I put him back. I even bought him a pillow (a very flat, toddler pillow), thinking it would make his crib feel more like our bed. It seems as though he could take it or leave it, sometimes using it for his feet instead of his head 🤦🏻‍♀️🙄. Most of the time I don’t mind when he’s in our bed, as long as he stays in the middle, or on Philip’s side 😉🤷🏻‍♀️. Last night, however, he was all over me and I told Philip today I don’t like that because I feel like a I don’t get a break from all of the touching. I’m happy to be the giver of the cuddles but eventually I like to have some time without someone else being attached to me.  

🤦🏻‍♀️🙄

A few weekends ago all hell broke loose when he became overly tired. He was screaming so he got put in time out and when I took him out he would turn into a limp noodle and push against me to get down. When I put him down he would scream for me to pick him back up. When I picked him up he would smack me in the face and get put back in time out. Philip asked me if I wanted him to step in and I said no but he eventually tried to help because he knew I was getting frustrated. I sat Quinn on the floor and Philip tried to pick him up to comfort him and he pitched a fit because he wanted me 😂🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤬. Like WTF, kid. Babies make no sense. He eventually exhausted himself with his assholishness and took a 3.5 hour nap. He woke up in a much better mood. I still don’t know what the problem was but we haven’t had another instance like that since, thankfully. 

He’s not quite 14 months old yet and we’ve already started lying to him. Ope, Mama’s belly button is gone, you can’t poke it anymore. You want to chew on my fingers? Sorry, I don’t have any. I know these white lies are a gateway to “spicy” ice cream and the non existence of replacement batteries for super annoying toys. 

Seriously though, we have our moments where we butt heads, him getting his stubbornness honestly, and me waging my power struggle, but most of the time we just have fun. He’s a pretty happy kid and it’s still hard to believe sometimes that he’s mine. Philip and I spent 17 years together just the two of us, so it just kind of strikes me sometimes that our world is completely different now and I look forward to all of the things I can’t wait to do with him. Ya know, when there’s not a national pandemic and social distancing is a thing of the past. We took him to the zoo again today and it was so crowded. Many people were wearing masks but some were not. I can’t wait to take him to Kennywood for the first time, or on vacation. I’m really hoping next year brings us back to “normal.” 

His first time at the park 🥰

I know I said I would start writing about my hobbies again, and not just motherhood, but my anxiety has been high as I deliberated my new life situation and we started a revolution against Suddenlink so you’ll have to excuse me this time. I’ll be back on task soon. Probably. I hope. I look forward to trying lots of new recipes. That, and making lesson plans (age appropriate) for Quinn. That’s gonna be my focus as soon as I’m done with work, which I will be on Wednesday of this coming week. I’ll still be managing the Farmers Market but that job is about to end for the season, too. 

Anyway, if you haven’t seen my posts on FB, Suddenlink has taken a real nose dive in the customer service department since being bought by Altice. Our power went out for about an hour last Wednesday when a transformer blew and when it came back on, our internet did not. Neither did any of our neighbors’ for a two block radius. They also lost phone and cable, services we didn’t have to begin with. We are on day 5 and service has not been restored, the tech who came to look at a neighbor’s house said it’s at the pole and requires a bucket truck to fix, and customer service can not tell us when one will be coming. Philip has called them every day to no avail. Because he works from home, and they don’t care at all, this is a huge issue for us. He filed claims against the company with the Attorney General, Federal Communications Commission, Public Service Commission, and Better Business Bureau (which Altice has a 1 star rating with—go figure). He did receive a call from Suddenlink corporate in regards to his FCC complaint but wasn’t able to answer because he was working—by tethering his computer to his phone, a move that required us to increase our data package to unlimited which is $70 more per month than we were paying. He will call them asap on Tuesday but we’re not holding our breath that anything will come of it. All of the neighbors have called as well and the customer service reps seem to tell them whatever they think they want to hear to get them off of the phone—it will be fixed this evening, it will be fixed on Friday, it will be fixed on Tuesday, etc. However, when Philip called the last time they told him no bucket truck is scheduled to come. Until that happens, nothing is getting fixed. This is the worst company we’ve ever dealt with. We’re checking into other options but we already know none offer anywhere close to the speed they do. It’s all very frustrating!🤬

Wish us luck with finding a new internet provider so we can tell Suddenlink to suck it! 😝