Things that I would have posted on Facebook...

Most of you probably know that I closed my Facebook account almost 3 weeks ago. There have been many times since then that I have thought 'I should post that to Facebook!' only to remember that Facebook is dead to me now (although I do use Jared's Facebook account to stay updated with some people, I have to admit). But it's probably a good thing, as it has given me reason to update the blog more often. Instead of going to Facebook and updating my status, I've been going to Blogger and adding my thoughts into a draft post, until I had enough content and time to publish it. So, here goes [it's lonnng, just warning ya]:

I started a daily journal, inspired by this pin on Pinterest.

The idea is to write a short sentence or two about what you did each day on an index card (one index card for each day of the year), and then continue each year so that you can look back and see the things you did on that day in the past years. It's perfect for me, because it is so much easier to keep a journal when I know I only have to write a sentence every day... I'm really bad at journal keeping if I feel like I have to write a page or more, especially if it's been a while since I've updated it because I feel like I want to say everything that has happened since I last wrote but I also don't feel like writing a lot... which ends up with me not writing in my journal. Ever. Not good.

But I came up with a different system. No index cards. Instead, I'm using Google Calendar. I created a calendar called 'Daily Journal' and every day I put a new calendar event on that day, with the title formatted like so: "{2011} Isaac said 'Da-da' for the first time!" etc. Then I set it to repeat yearly, which means they will just start piling up on each other year after year, sort of like the index cards example above. I also have set the calendar to send an email "reminder" for every event (click on the link and see "Default Notification Settings" to learn how to do this), so once it has been a year since I started, I will be getting an email every day with the entry/entries from the previous years for that day. Does this make sense at all? Hopefully, because I think it's brilliant! I had to create a daily reminder on my calendar to do the journaling, though... if I hadn't done that, I would never remember and it would have been a failure! I've been keeping a daily journal now for almost a month and a half successfully. (Although, I have to admit that some days are simply: 'I took a nap today. It was nice.') I think this is going to be something I will treasure even more as the years go by (I have a feeling time will go by more and more quickly as I have more children, and before I know it, I'll be a grandma and I'll wonder what happened to all the time!) Also, just a tip if you decide to do something similar: I back up the calendar every month [I set a reminder on my calendar to do that, as well] just to make sure I don't lose the entries. I hope doing this will help improve my memory, because I might as well be a goldfish when it comes to remembering anything.

Speaking of memories, ever since I was pregnant with Isaac, I have been trying so hard to be in the moment and enjoy each phase of life I am in for what it is. I don't want to look back one day and realize I was so caught up in wanting the future to happen now ("I can't wait to have this baby" or "I can't wait until he starts interacting/smiling/crawling/talking/walking/etc.") that I never really appreciated what I had at that time - whether it's a kicking baby, or a sleepy newborn, or a teething little boy. As much as I've tried to relish each of these moments, I find that it's all slipping away so quickly anyway! I can't believe I already have a 6 month old. I will never hold little newborn Isaac again. That's over with already! Despite all my attempts to slow time down and breathe in each minute and hour and day, time keeps on moving along and I'm left wondering... what happened to it? No matter what I do, time is going to go by faster and faster and I'll be here one moment and gone the next, as will my children, my family, my friends, my grandchildren, and so on [have you ever realized that none of us will be here in 100 years? It will be a whole new crop of people running around on the planet!] All I can do is be in the moment, write down memories, and take lots of pictures and videos. And maybe we'll be allowed to relive these moments and appreciate them fully somehow in the next life. One can only hope!

And if I can't bottle up my memories, can I at least bottle up the smell of a baby? I'm pretty sure it's the most addictive smell there is. I'm not talking about the baby oil, baby powder, baby shampoo smell. I'm talking about the real deal, here. Milky breath and all. I LOVE IT.

Random comment about Isaac (who is 6 months old today): he is soooo close to saying Mama. He has already kind of said it a few times, but not like he did in the "Da-da" video. He'll randomly repeat it after me and then not say it again for a day. I kind of caught it on camera though, so maybe I will upload that in the next few days, along with the bath video that I mentioned in my previous post as well.

Also, I bought this jumperoo as an early Christmas present for Isaac. It's actually more of an early Christmas present for me, though. :) It's awesome! He can't really be put in his swing anymore as he's getting more exploratory and less patient with it, and the playmat isn't so good since I always put it on the bed (not enough room on the floor in our room) and he's starting to roll over. So the jumperoo is perfection right now for those times I can't be holding or entertaining him. Like when I am putting together orders from my Etsy shop.

Speaking of which, my Etsy shop is doing pretty well these days - so well that I just bought a DSLR camera with the money I earned! It's a big purchase, I know, but I have wanted a nice camera for years now, and I am so excited to finally have one. No more grainy, blurry pictures (hopefully)! I got a great deal on it. It's the Canon EOS Rebel T3 - it goes for around $480 on Amazon, but I got it for $380 on eBay (new), along with 1% cashback ($3.80) from Ebates and $7.00 in eBay bucks, so more like $370 total after cashback. That's over $100 saved. Heck yes. AND it comes with an 8 GB memory card. So, basically, I'm feeling pretty proud of my deal-finding-abilities right about now. And I can't wait to get awesome pictures of Isaac with it! It should be arriving before Christmas, and you best believe I'll be posting those first pictures here as soon as I take them!

Next random comment: I cry so much more now that I am a mom. Anything having to do with a baby, or with family/parents/kids/etc. makes me tear up or cry. I recently watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2... pretty much every scene with a baby or a parent/child-related incident made me cry. Then I watched The Help. Again, lots of tears. It's crazy. But totally worth it, because being a mom is the best thing everrrr.

I cut off probably around 12 inches of hair on a whim. I'm not a big fan of how it looks, though, so I'm going to have a professional fix it up probably. Maybe today. I'm thinking one of these hairstyles (do you have a preference?)

   


Last but not least... I was napping with Isaac just a day or two ago when I woke up to a strange grating sound... pretty sure my subconscious knew exactly what that sound was and woke me up out of pure disgust -- I looked to my left to find a MOUSE, right next to my face eating out of the garbage. It's hard to describe, but I had the garbage up off the ground, leaning up against my bed... the mouse climbed up into the bed to get to the garbage! It was right there... RIGHT THERE! Just chowing down on some old muffin wrapper while I napped! Sick. Just sick. A four pack of mouse traps (the "I'll spare your life, but not before I scare the living daylights out of you" type) are on their way as we speak.

That's all, folks!

Psst- read this if you need a good laugh.