Hellobee

I’m so not athletic. I like feeling healthy, but outside of yoga, I hate to exercise. I’ve still got 6 or 7 pounds of baby weight to lose, and although it doesn’t sound like a lot, it makes half my wardrobe unwearable. I miss my diversified closet, and unless I destroy all the mirrors in my house, my self-esteem can’t really cope with the extra weight hanging around. So although I hate the idea, it’s time to start a regular exercise program. I don’t have time to workout sans baby, so I need to do something that allows me to bring the Trikester along – which is why I committed to the Couch to 5k program and jogging with an infant (Mrs. Yoyo wrote a great post on Couch to 5k).

I’m a newbie when it comes to jogging with a stroller and I’m learning a lot in the process!

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I’m not much for mess, but my little guy loves it. Mud, dirty puddles, sand. If it’s questionable, he will check it out. That’s why I love these goo sensory bags. It’s gooey and squishy without any mess! My mom used to make them when I was younger, and I remember scrunching and pressing and smashing it over and over again. It was mesmerizing.

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*Special thanks to all of the mamas who gave me permission to feature their sweet progenies in this post!

One thing I hugely miss about staying at home (while on maternity leave) is having regular play dates.  Not being able to have regular play dates makes me sad on two accounts:  1) Baby Checkers does not have a group of friends she sees regularly throughout the week since she stays at home with my family; 2) by way of Number One, I also do not have a group of mom friends I see regularly throughout the week.  Scheduling play dates on weekends can sometimes be a challenge since for many families (including my own), weekends are often set aside for special family time since it is really the only extensive amount of time during the week you have altogether.

Perhaps in some idyllic corner of my mind, I imagine stay-at-home moms pouring their hearts out over a cup of coffee while their sweet children run around, laugh and play.  In reality, I know a majority of the time together may actually be spent on discipline, teaching, feeding, and making sure the kids do not rip each other to shreds or self-destruct.  But seeing Baby Checkers interact with other children her age and having time to connect with other moms make my heart happy.  Since this is important me, I have tried to be somewhat creative in my approach of organizing play dates.

Baby Checkers on a play date at a local park

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In this edition of the Swarm, the bees share how long it took them to conceive.

It took us a year and a round of clomid to get pregnant the first time. We lost the pregnancy very early, waited a month, and got pregnant with Liam on our second round of clomid. It was only a year, but the emotional roller coaster I experienced made it feel much longer. My periods weren’t regular, so I always thought I could be pregnant when I wasn’t and while I did ovulate, my hormone levels were quite low. I hope we have a different experience when we try for baby #2 in that either it happens quickly on its own, or I go on clomid much sooner since we already know that has worked for me in the past.

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Dear Drakey,

In one month you are going to be 3 years old!  I can’t even believe that when I hear those words — three!  It seems like yesterday you were still that little baby we brought home from the hospital, completely bewildered at what laid ahead for our new family of three. On the other hand, it’s hard to even remember what life was like without you in it as  you fill every day with your boundless energy and enthusiasm for everything.

Our first photo together

I’m pretty sure that planning our child(ren)’s room is one of my favorite parts of nesting. For our Mini Michelangelo, I had five different wall colors (including a magnetic chalkboard), 8 or 9 different fabrics, and more little details than I can count. And it all came together in a fun, vibrant, and graphic room that still fits him today. I don’t do themes really… but I really like stripes and dots and typography. Somehow, it all works. (And I totally, totally love it.)

Imagine my surprise when I was planning out our second son’s room and I had discovered that this room did, in fact, have a theme. It all started with a fabric that I loved. I had loved it for months and months, but when I saw it again recently… it occurred to me that I could use it for our second son’s room! (I’m thinking he will be “Pint-Sized Picasso” here on HB.) Add in that I had a paint color already on the walls and a red chair that I wanted to live in there… and I knew I had a solid start. It kind of grew from there. A little bit of surfing on some of my favorite sites, and before I knew it… I had my inspiration board.

Going in I knew that I wanted it to include bright colors (bright colors are the norm in this house!) and I knew I wanted to stay away from anything too “baby-esque.” Not only because our second son will most likely come home  at 16-18 months old, but also because I want it to last well into elementary school years. I have big plans to DIY this room… so some of this is truly inspiration, some of it is actually bought, and the rest of it is on my wish list.

Without further babbling on my part, here it is… Pint-Sized Picasso’s Coastal Chic Toddler Room:

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I have been struggling with how I wanted to share all the things that I feel are important buys for your little one. I was planning on creating one giant post about it with numerous sections on each topic. Then I realized that you may have to read for a week just to get to the bottom of it, so I decided instead to do a series on my top ten picks for things in each registry category. Today, we start with the “sleep” section.

Sleep is one of the things that is on every parent’s mind before they have a little one. “Will I ever sleep again?” “What happens if my baby sleeps all day and is awake all night?” “Will my little one still be waking up to eat in the middle of the night in college?” Or was that last one just me? There are so many things that claim they will help your little one sleep more soundly,  for longer intervals and more comfortably positioned… the problem is finding the ones that work for your little one. Here are my top ten things that worked for Little Tea Cup in the sleep department.

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