My First Time Celebrating Mother's Day as a Mommy

My house is a disaster zone - and I couldn't be happier.  Everywhere I look there are toys, bottles, tiny socks and cheerios.  Reminders of the little princess that is upstairs fast asleep.

As I celebrate my first Mother's Day, I almost can't remember what life was like before Piper arrived.  Sure, we had a clean house, disposable income, slept in on weekends, went out to fancy dinners and took last minute trips.  But what we have now is even better.  We have a family and I am a mommy.  Has it really only been less than a year that I became a mommy?  It's amazing how you can love some one so incredibly much and completely unconditionally.

My favorite part of the day is when I pick Piper up from daycare.  As soon as she sees me or even hears my voice, she goes crazy smiling, waving her arms and crawls towards me as fast as she can.  I seriously drown the poor kid in hugs and kisses.  Even if I've had the worst day at work, everything melts away as soon as I scoop up the little munchkin.

On this Mother's Day, I also want to celebrate my mom and mother-in-law for being such great wommy role models.  And thank you to Piper for choosing me to her mommy.  It has been quite a ride so far and I can't wait to see what's next.

Naked Baby at Applebee's

Naked babies and artichoke dip don't usually mix.  That is until Piper visited an Abblebee's in Niles, Michigan.

Piper recently embarked on her very first road trip - a five hour drive from Chicago to Livonia, Michigan to her Aunt Shanae's wedding shower.  Armed with food, snacks and toys, the drive there was a breeze.  Our superstar traveler slept and played for the entire trip.

After a great weekend of celebrating Aunt Shanae's upcoming wedding (of which Piper will be a flower girl) and receiving lots of hugs and cuddles from family, we headed out on the trip back to Chicago.  About an hour and a half from home we stopped for lunch at an Abblebee's.  Piper was in a great mood and excited to stretch her little legs.

Once inside, we were enjoying an appetizer when it became clear Piper needed to be changed.  I scooped up a diaper and a travel-size pack of wipes and headed to the bathroom.  My little angel had one of the worst poonamis to date.  We're talking poop squished up to her shoulder blades and out the sides of her diaper.  After I spent a good 10 minutes scrubbing Piper down with wipes I realized that the extra outfit I had was out in the car.

The look on my husband's face as he saw me walking back to the table with a naked baby was priceless.  It was the mommy walk of shame...and I was mortified.  By the time he got her a new outfit from the car, Piper was making new friends, had become the star attraction of Applebee's and she was loving every moment of it, waving and laughing.

I am going on record now with the prediction that Piper will grow up to be an actress...or maybe even a politician.  When she makes it big, I will be sure to embarrass her by sharing the story of the great Applebee's incident of 2011.

 

Dark Circles Be Gone!

Almost any wommy will tell you that coffee and under eye concealer are absolute necessities when trying to navigate early morning meetings, without much sleep.  I have tried countless brands of concealer and have finally found a favorite, along with a few other wommy drugstore must-haves.  As for coffee, as long as it's hot and has caffeine, I'll drink it.

• Amazing Cosmetics concealer is literally amazing.  A small tube for $28 will last you months.  The trick is to only use a teeny tiny amount.  A little goes a long way with this stuff.  I guarantee your dark circles will go deep undercover.
• TRESemme fresh start dry shampoo is a life saver for those days you don't have time to wash your hair.  A few sprays, a brush through and your hair will look and smell freshly washed. 
• Clinique Almost Lipstick in blackhoney looks dark in the tube, but goes on sheer and compliments virtually every skin tone.
• Maybelline Lash Stiletto waterproof mascara will make your eyes appear more awake and your lashes look long and glossy.  It works better than the more expensive brands I've tried. 

I am a self proclaimed beauty product junkie and will basically try anything that claims to be anti-aging, skin brightening or glossy.  But I've found that the best way to perk myself up doesn't cost a penny.  As cheesy as it sounds, a smile and a good laugh are easy ways to brighten your face and lift your mood.   Give it a try.  I promise it will work.

Give That Girl a Set of Wings

Piper makes friends everywhere she goes and our trip to Scottsdale to visit Nina and Papa Jimbo was no exception.  This was Piper's first flight and I had visions of her having a meltdown capped off by an explosive poonami moments after take-off.  What happened instead taught me a very valuable lesson - never underestimate my daughter.  She turned out to be an all around traveling super star.

Piper sat on my lap playing quietly throughout the entire flight to Scottsdale.  She charmed our neighbors on the plane and other passengers greeted her by name at the baggage claim.  I figured we got lucky on the flight to Arizona, but was still edgy about the flight home.  Once again, Piper came through with flying colors.  She even helped a flight attendant hand out drinks, while clapping and smiling at other passengers. Come on, who can resist a happy baby.  

Besides getting showered with attention from Nina and Papa, Piper hit quite a few milestones during our trip.  She turned nine months, got her first haircut, went swimming in an outdoor pool and pulled herself up to standing for the first time.  Talk about packing a lot into a short period of time.  Why is it that the work week always seems to drag, but a week of vacation seems to fly by at warp speed!?  

Babies and children are much more adaptable than we give them credit for.  Sometimes I think we are the ones who put the pressure on ourselves and them. 

Make Me a Bird

Tomorrow, we're embarking on our first trip with an infant.  Yep - nine-month-old Piper will be flying the friendly skies...or at least I hope they're friendly.

Pre-baby, I used to be a frequent business traveler.  I would cringe if I got stuck behind a family with children going through airport security.  It usually took them forever to get through with their kids, strollers and gear.  Ugh!  Even worse was seeing someone with a baby about to board the same flight as me.  I would pray that they sat nowhere near me.

Ironically, I am now going to be one of those people struggling with a stroller, diaper bag and squirmy baby.  I've gotten tons of great tips from other wommies like making sure Piper is eating at take off and landing, so that her ears don't hurt, or packing lots of snacks and toys to keep her occupied.  Frankly, my biggest fear is that we will experience an infamous Piper poonami minutes into our four-hour flight.  How lovely will that be for everyone in an enclosed aircraft!?

Luckily Piper is a happy and laid back baby, so chances are everything will go smoothly.  Just in case, I am going to make sure she is dressed super duper cute.  At least that way she will charm everyone before the meltdown occurs and she can get by on her cuteness.  Don't judge me for playing the cute baby card.  Desperate times call for desperate measures :-)

Stay tuned to hear how it al goes...

A Good Bra and Good Friends

What do a good bra and good friends have in common?  They are supportive wommy essentials.  Becoming a mom and a wommy makes you appreciate these supportive friendships even more than ever...and it forges friendships you might never have imagined before.

I have have been blessed with a wonderful network of friends, spread out across the country.   These circles of friends hail from grade school, high school, college, internships and various jobs.  In fact, one of the tightest groups of friends is made up of former girlfriends of my husband's friends.  Did you catch that?  When I started dating Ryan, I became good friends with the girlfriends of his roommates and friends.  In the coming years, all of the couples broke up (except Ryan and me), but the girls all stayed close.  

My company has a "Mother's Room" for those who are nursing and pumping.  Who would have guessed that this small room would lead to strongly bonded friendships.  In the room, there is a notebook where wommies can share milestones, challenges, funny stories, advice etc.  It's kind of like a shared journal.  It makes you realize that you are not alone and that what your are going through is absolutely normal.  Keep in mind that most of us have never met in person.  We only know each other through the notebook.

We decided to schedule a monthly wommy luncheon so that we could get together in person.  The other wommies from the Mother's Room are from departments across the company that I typical would never have the chance to interact.  We don't live near each other.  None of us went to the same schools.   We don't work in the same departments.  Heck, I don't know if most of us would ever even pass each other in the hall before.  Nonetheless, these ladies have now become some of my closest wommy friends.

An acquaintance of mine once said that she had enough friends and wasn't interested in making more.   Can you ever truly have enough friends?  The answer is no...at least in my book.

The Blizzard of 2011 and Groundhog Day

Snow angels and groundhogs.  Who would have thunked it?  The great blizzard of 2011 paralyzed the Chicagoland area last night and today.  While most people were excited about the unexpected snow day, I was excited to have the day off to celebrate Piper's first Groundhog Day.  Yes, I said Groundhog Day and I know it's strange.

Years ago my dad and I started making a big deal out of celebrating Groundhog Day simplify because it is such a silly holiday.  It was a special quirky thing that we shared.  We'd call each other first thing in the morning on February 2, follow Puxatawney Phil online and send each other funny e-cards leading up to the big day.  All of our friends and family would make fun of us, but they couldn't resist the craziness and eventually joined in on the silly celebrations.

I'll never forget the first Groundhog Day I celebrated without my dad.  It was February 2, 2008, almost two months since we lost my dad to cancer.  That day was harder for me than his birthday or the anniversary of his passing.  I was dialing his number first thing in the morning when it hit me that he wasn't there to share our annual Groundhog Day chat.  My stomach dropped.

To be honest, it's still a bittersweet day, but it's definitely leaning more towards the sweet side of things with Piper around.  Although my husband thinks I'm crazy, Groundhog Day will always be a big holiday celebrated in the McGrath household.  Partly because I still think it's fun and silly, but partly because it will be a way for Piper to remember the grandfather she never met.  I have no doubt he is smiling down on her all of the time, but today, I am sure he is getting a chuckle about her Groundhog Day onesie.  He would be thrilled to know that we are carrying on the tradition.