Sun, Surf and Sleep

T-minus six days until we embark on our first Piperless vacation.  Months ago when we were planning our vacation to St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, we were salivating at the thought of lying on a beach, enjoying a cocktail and sleeping in.  Now that it is less than a week away, I am panicking.

In 15 months, I've only spent one night away from Piper.  She spent that night with grandma and everything went great.  But when we got home, I swear she gave both Ryan and me the cold shoulder.  The little nugget definitely had an attitude and let us know that she knew we had left her.  After a week away she is bound to absolutely hate us.  Plus, I'm not quite sure how I'll deal with the separation anxiety.  Yikes!

Nina and Papa are coming in from Scottsdale to spend the week with Piper.  I have no doubt they'll all have a blast and she will be spoiled rotten.  As I'm compiling a list of lists (emergency numbers, Piper's schedule, like/dislike list, food like/dislike list), I'm starting to wonder if the lists are more for my own security and sanity than Nina and Papa's.    

Hopefully by day two of the trip, I'll be refreshed from sleeping past 5 am, enjoying leisurely dinners and adult beverages.  It will be easier to miss Piper while sipping a pina colada on the beach.  Geez - do I sound like a horrible wommy or what!?  

Nina and Papa have have promised to text photos and keep us updated of how the munchkin is doing.  Stay tuned to see how this wommy handles a week of R&R in the Virgin Islands.  Yes, I know, it's a tough assignment, but someone has to do it.  

    

Tears and Toddlers

This week at daycare drop-off there were some tears, but not from Piper.  I was the one who needed a Kleenex.  Piper officially transitioned from the infant room to the toddler room.  My Sweet P has suddenly become a big girl.

Piper's daycare is wonderful and her teachers are absolutely amazing.  In fact, her teachers have taught me as much as they've taught Piper.  Being a first time mom is completely overwhelming and I constantly asked the teachers for advice.  Heck, her main teacher has 15 years of experience with babies.  She helped me figure out when to transition to baby food and when to move to whole milk.  She calmed my nerves and let me know that everything I was worried about was completely normal.  When I'm worried about Piper not eating enough or not feeling well, her teacher would call to check in throughout the day to let me know how everything was going.  Piper adores her and so do I.

On our last drop-off in infants, I dressed Piper up in a special pink sundress, put her hair in pigtails with matching pink bows and put on her silver shoes.  We got there early and gave all of the teachers little gifts.  I gave Piper's teacher a hug and that's when the tears started.  Then I looked over and saw my Sweet P sitting at the table eating cheerios and she just looked so darn grown up...and the tears really flowed.  Yes, I realize she is only 15 months old, but seeing her next to the younger babies made me realize how quickly time flies by.  I plan to continue enjoying every moment!

The infant room is like a little cocoon and I love getting her settled and chatting with her teacher every morning.  I am going to miss that.

Word on the street is that Piper's teachers in toddlers are pretty fantastic too.  Maybe by the time she transitions to the next classroom I'll be able to hold it together.  Oh who am I kidding, I am sure I'll be the class cry baby once again.  

Flat Irons and Dog Beds

I am always on the hunt for tip and tricks to make life easier, while still looking great and trying to squeeze a few more hours out of the day.  Here is a list of some of my favorite tricks from friends, family and colleagues. 

• Use your flatiron to quickly iron wrinkles out of baby clothes.  Flatirons are small, so they can easily take care of tiny outfits.   Brilliant!
• A stapler can be a quick temporary fix for a snapped slingback on a high heal.  Same goes for a pant hem that falls out in the middle of the day.
• Take a hint from the cast of Jersey Shore and wear the shirt before the shirt while feeding your baby or toddler in the morning before heading to work.  That way stains and spit-up won't slow you down.  
• A new plush dog bed makes the perfect rest spot for a toddler to snuggle in and relax.  I kid you not!  I bought Piper a pink fluffy dog bed and she loves curling up there to read her books.  It's the perfect size for her.   
• Always carry ziploc bags in your diaper bag for wet icky clothes or waste.
• Indulge yourself with a mink coat...for your lashes.  When your favorite mascara is on sale, buy a tube in brown and a tube in black.  Apply the brown, let it dry, and then tip just the ends of your lashed with the black.  I promise your lashes will look super long.  Don't believe me?  Try it and see for yourself.
• Hit up garage sales in ritzy communities.  You can score practically new toys and clothes for a fraction of store cost.  I bought Piper brand-new Ralph Lauren dresses for $1 a piece.
• Keep an eye out for sales at Ann Taylor, LOFT and Gap.  You can get classic basics for a great price and also some funky blouses that will spice up a basic suit and/or jeans.  Don't be afraid of color!  I bought a brightly colored watercolor-type sleeveless blouse from LOFT early in the summer and have worn it a ton, with suits to jeans to capris.

What tips and tricks are in your arsenal?

The Green Bean Bandit Strikes Again

Instead of a mask she wears a smile and instead of a cape she wears a pink tutu.  Her blue eyes are laser focused on the piles of green...that's green beans, of course.  According to her teachers, Piper is already infamous at daycare as the Green Bean Bandit.

As I've mentioned before, Piper is a veggie freak.  She loves anything green and green beans are her veggie of choice.  So much so that at lunch she devours her green beans and then starts quietly stealing from the plates of the other kiddies.  Not that they seem to mind much.  Chicken nuggets, pizza, ravioli and all other kiddie yummies sit untouched on her plate.  

Piper doesn't discriminate against veggies other than green beans.  She'll steal peas, tomatoes, lima beans, broccoli and cauliflower too.  Fair warning to all other veggie loving toddlers - guard your plate if the Green Bean Bandit is around.   She'll charm you with her smile and swipe your veggies before you can say the words "nap time."
  

Diaper Rash From Hell

Nothing breaks your heart more than when you're baby is sick or hurt.  Poor Sweet P got hit by a nasty rotovirus resulting in a diaper rash from hell.

On Tuesday I was working from home and had Piper with me.  As you all know, Piper is a big pooper, so a day with three or four dirty diaper isn't out of the norm.  However, I started to question things when we got to crazy explosive diaper number five and it was only 1:00 pm.  By the time I changed her diaper again, around 2:30 pm, I noticed her little tushy was bright fire-engine red.

Over the next few hours the stomach issues worsened and so did the diaper rash.  She screamed bloody murder during every diaper change and it made me cry seeing her in so much pain.  The next day the diaper rash was still pretty bad, but Piper seemed to be doing okay, so I took her to daycare.  This is where being a wommy gets really hard.

I wish I could have stayed home and cuddled with her all day, but I had a slate full of meetings and projects at work.  Talk about feeling like a horrible mother as I left her at daycare.  On Wednesday and Thursday her teachers said she ate okay, but was still having numerous crazy diapers throughout the day.    

My wommy group at work gave me a lot of great diaper rash advice.  One of the best tips was to not use wipes and instead clean her little bum with baby oil soaked cotton balls, which really helped.  The rash started to improve.

However, today, on the way to daycare, I heard Piper fussing in the backseat, which isn't unusual on our commute.  However, when I went to get her out of the car, I saw that she had a horrible poonami.  Both she and the car seat were covered in poop.  It was probably one of the grossest things I've ever experienced.

As I was my best to clean her and the car seat enough to head back home and to the pediatrician, I was in tears.  My poor little nugget was sick (and probably had been sicker than I thought for the past few days) and yet I was still taking her to daycare and heading to work.  Talk about wommy guilt.

I called my boss to tell her I wouldn't be in today and headed home to take care of Sweet P.   It turns out she has Rotovirus.  My peanut also lost half a pound that she can't afford to lost.   As we spend the weekend trying to get Piper to eat and drink, I will cuddle and hug her as much as possible.

On the upside, dealing with so many explosive diapers has helped to jump start my diet.  Talk about an appetite killer.

Green Goodness

If I didn't know better, I would question whether or not Piper is really my daughter.

This weekend, we went to out friend George's third birthday party.   All of the kids were having a blast in a big blow-up pool with a slide and sprinkler.  It was pretty awesome.  None of the kids had a care in the world, which is the way it should be.  They were laughing and splashing and only stopped long enough chow down on cake and ice cream.  That is everyone except Piper.  No - Piper would rather have green beans and blueberries.

My little nugget is the healthiest eater I know...much the opposite of me.  She wants nothing to do with cake, ice cream, muffins or basically anything that constitutes a yummy piece of heaven.  We tried to give her a taste of a Dairy Queen cone and she acted like we were torturing her.  Piper also turns her nose up at kid staples like hot dogs, mac&cheese and chicken nuggets.  But give her a plate full of peas, green beans and strawberries and she is a happy camper.  In fact, we have yet to find a veggie she doesn't like.

We usually feed her bites of what we eat.  So far some of her favorites include chilean sea bass, saffron risotto, avocado and spinach tortellini.  I kid you not.  Seriously, who is this kid!?

Check in with us a year from now and it may be a different story, but for now, we will enjoy our healthy little eater.  I kid about it, but am secretly pleased that Piper is such a healthy eater and says no to processed food.  Maybe I'll even pick up some of her will power and say no to cake and ice cream.  Who am I kidding.  That's never going to happen!

Free Gift With Purchase?

I am a sucker for beauty product advertising and I'll try almost any product, once.  Will it even my skin tone...prevent wrinkles...make my eyes sparkle...last all day?  Well then let me slap down my debit card.  But what really draws me in at the department stores are the gifts with purchase.  I love the mini make-up kits, tote bags, umbrellas and even got a cute necklace free with a perfume purchase.  However, it seems like the new trend is that the free gift with purchase is not always "free."

A few weeks ago, I was at Macy's and stopped by the Clinique counter to purchase some powder.  The sales woman told me that they were offering a gift with purchase.  Woo hoo!  She then told me that if I purchased another $15 worth of product, I would qualify to purchase the "gift" set for $35.  Excuse me!?  I am spending money on your product and am then rewarding with the option to spend more money.  That's ridiculous and horrible marketing, especially with our current economy.

One week later I was in New Jersey for my sister-in-law's wedding and stopped by Estee Lauder to get my make-up done.  I don't usually wear Estee Lauder, but knew that I had to purchase a product or two since they were doing my make-up.  The make-up artist mentioned that they were doing a free gift with purchase.  But low and behold, Estee Lauder's gift was actually free!  Guess which company I am now going to purchase cosmetics from?