Wordless Wednesday: Exhausted

For the record, she moved her head about a second later.

My ring sling is worth its weight in gold.

Some days my little girl is so active. If I try to take her for a walk in the carrier, she will squirm and wriggle to get out because she wants to move around. She's becoming so aware of her surroundings, she wants to see EVERYTHING! I'm always a little bummed when I have to cut our walks short because she is just not happy sitting still.

Today, however, poor baby had a cold and she just wanted to snuggle. Unfortunately, I had several loads of laundry to do, reviews to write, and information to gather on this upcoming PCS. I couldn't spend all day holding her like she'd prefer and my relief was coming home late, which would be a huge issue if I didn't have my lovely Girasol ring sling. Because of this beautiful (and somewhat ancient) invention, I was able to get all of my chores done for the day and comfort my sick baby all at the same time!

My Light Rainbow Girasol Wrap-Conversion Ring Sling is my new favorite carrier. I love the quality handwoven material of the Girasol, and I absolutely love the excellent construction and traditional SBP-style pleated shoulder provided by Sleeping Baby Productions. If you have a wrap you'd like converted, Sleeping Baby Productions is definitely the place to go. Check the FB page if you need any convincing.



Also, I discovered three new reasons to love babywearing as a new mom:
1. It hides my new mommy muffin top.
2. It hides my now clownishly lopsided boobies (which are due to baby girl insisting on nursing exclusively on the right for the past week.)
3. Nobody cares that you haven't showered, brushed your teeth, or put on makeup when you're wearing a cute little baby!

This makes five!

Dear Monkey,

     Where has the time gone? You are five months old today, and I can't believe my eyes. You continue to grow and learn every day and I'll never get tired of watching it happen.
     This past month you have found your voice. I know this because I hear you screech, and squeal, and grunt, and sigh when you feel like nobody is paying attention to you. You also chatter away with "bababa" and "dadada" sounds, which will soon become your first words. Sometimes these noises are tinged with frustration or boredom, but usually they are just silly, happy, baby noises. You are now very often a silly, happy baby!
     I began to get worried, I'll admit, that you were falling behind a little bit when you hadn't started to roll over on your own a month ago, but I was reminded last week that you are capable of amazing things. You just do them when you are good and ready. I watched you squirm around on your tummy at Grandma and Grandpa's house as the three of us cheered you on. You hitched up your leg over and over until you gained enough momentum, and just like that you were on your back! I picked you up and praised you, and I nearly cried because I was so incredibly proud of you.
     A few days ago, you discovered your feet. Now you've mostly moved on from sticking your hands in your mouth since these newly found appendages are so much more fun to grab.
     My new favorite thing is making you laugh. It doesn't take much these days. You laugh when I make silly faces and when I tickle your toes. You laugh at the TV and your polka dotted blanket. I will make a pretty big fool of myself just to hear your adorable little chuckle.
     I am convinced that you will never sleep through the night, but as long as you continue to wake up smiling, I may be able to get over it.

I love you, Monkey!
<3 Mama

Wordless Wednesday - Baby Feet

(This part isn't wordless. Deal with it.) I decided to jump on the Wordless Wednesdays bandwagon in order to motivate myself to post more pictures and post more frequently. Right now, I'm participating in Wordless Wednesdays on the Natural Parents Network. Here's my photo of little miss Silly Monkey:

Her favorite place to nap. <3

EDIT: Oops! Looks like I'm a week ahead. :facepalm: I'll just switch with next week's which is Story Time!

What do I do with this stuff?

I've been going through boxes in the garage to decide what is and is not going to Texas with us on the PCS. For the most part, I'm not having trouble deciding what stays or goes. I mean, we will definitely not be needing a full set of martini glasses or a multi-purpose cake plate, and since they're fragile, they probably wouldn't make the trip anyway. My biggest problem is what to do after I decide to get rid of things I no longer have a use for.

There are three main categories for these items: Trash, Sell, Donate.
Trash: This one is pretty easy. Either something is broken, dirty, or otherwise unusable. (Don't forget that some "trash" can be recycled!) No-brainer there.
The next two get tricky. How do you decide something is worth selling? Where do you plan to sell it? Is it worth the trouble? If not, and you decide to donate it, where will you take it? Are you worried about the likelihood of it actually being used?
Sell: This requires more work on your part than making a donation. You have some options, but try to keep it simple.
     You can have a yard sale, but be realistic. Will you really get up at 6AM on Saturday and Sunday to set up your items? Are you willing to haggle with people and accept the fact that you probably won't sell much? If you think a yard sale is a possibility, make sure you sufficiently advertise and see if any of your neighbors would like to get involved. (I'll talk more about yard sales in a later post.)
     If you don't want to give up your sleep-in days, consider listing items for sale online. You can list most items on Craigslist (for free!) or eBay. If you have books, video games, or DVDs, you can list them on half.com or the Amazon marketplace. ***Be sure to check each site's policies and listing fees.***  The pros here are that you don't have to physically haul your stuff in and out of your garage or worry about severe weather. Cons? It still takes time, and you have to be accurate with your descriptions. Either way, this stuff is still taking up your space until it's sold.

The best solution I've come up with here is narrowing down your options and forming a plan for the stuff that doesn't sell.
Scenario 1:
     I decide to have a yard sale. I advertise on Facebook, in the newspaper, and on Craigslist for a week. I make between $100-$500. Whatever is left over gets donated to the Salvation Army. Whatever they don't take goes in the trash or gets recycled. Done!

Scenario 2:
     I have a lot of books and DVDs to sell, so I post them on half.com. (I also advertise these listings on Facebook and any relevant online forums/communities.) If they don't sell by Christmas, they get donated. The end!

If you're more worried about recouping your space than your money, I'd say donating everything is the way to go!