We lived on a dry campus for two years, which apparently is the equivalent to living under a rock. Some wonderful person in the world discovered the ability to package frozen alcoholic beverages in Capri-Sun-esque pouches. YUM.
Since I turn 25 today, I thought I’d better look back at my 25 Before 25 list that I wrote in October and see how many things I was able to cross off of my list. The answer? Not as many as I’d hoped. Life just got in the way! There were a lot of unexpected things that happened between then and now. There are some things that I’ve been working on, but didn’t feel comfortable crossing off the list quite yet. I put a side note on others that didn’t work out as I’d hoped. Oh well!
I’m working on a 30 Before 30 list and will let you all in on that fun soon. At least this time, I’ll have a good five years to complete it!
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My friend, Marisa, introduced me to CSAs (Community-Supported Agriculture). You can purchase a full share or a half share CSA through a local farm and pick up your share of produce every week for the agreed-upon season. I thought this was so awesome! After recently being disappointed by the produce available at chain supermarkets, I thought it was a great way to know exactly where your produce is coming from and support local farming at the same time.
We decided to purchase a half share of a CSA, which equaled about $18/week for the May-October growing season (she graciously prorated it for us since we didn’t move here until last week!). I calculated that I pay more than $18/week at the supermarket for produce, and after seeing how much we received this week I know that it’s a great deal.
I’ll try to go from left to right: carrots, a pint of blueberries, four beets, a pint of raspberries, an enormous amount of lettuce, a leafy green thing that I can’t identify (oops!), snap peas, and green beans.
Wow! I never purchase this large of a variety of produce each week because, quite honestly, we can’t afford to! I’m so excited that we did this.
Are you part of a CSA program? Have you enjoyed your experience?
Here’s C in his typical gunslinger stance:
One of my goals on my 25 Before 25 list was to find an excellent homemade macaroni & cheese recipe. Thanks to Pinterest, I found one that is similar to the Wisconsin Mac & Cheese at Noodles & Company. Yum!
Go to Pretty Kitten’s Kitchen to get her delicious recipe for Noodles & Co – esque Mac & Cheese!
You know how people make comments that they don’t really mean anything by, but it makes you feel like the shittiest parent ever?
With living out of state, then having two recent moves and being in a wedding, C has spent time staying with both sets of his grandparents. When we lived out of state, my parents took C for a week once so that I could have some time to work and rest.
Other parents have said things like:
How is someone supposed to respond to these comments?!
I hate to admit this, but I didn’t really miss C when my parents had him for one week in October. I was so ill with PPD (this was pre-diagnosis) that I spent that entire week in my pajamas lounging and sleeping. I was overwhelmed and exhausted by my role as a mother; and even though I had planned on spending time shopping, exercising and working, the only thing I was able to do that week was rest.
I missed him some in March, when I went with Hubster to his interview at the university where he’ll soon begin his new job. But when we moved in May, I finally missed him a lot. I missed him the way I knew a parent might miss their child. Then I knew what people were talking about, even though they really shouldn’t have made any comments at all.
Now every time that any comment (positive, negative, passive) is made about C staying elsewhere, I immediately recall how I didn’t miss him when I was in the pit of my mental illness and I’m hit with a wall of guilt and shame.
I encourage us all to think before we speak, so as to avoid inadvertently hurting others. xoxo
Our bedtime routine usually involves me giving C a bath and Hubster feeding C his bottle and brushing his teeth. The other night, Hubster created a toothbrushing song. It goes like this:
C and his toothbrush are
Going to happy town
Gonna brush those pearly whites
So you don’t need a crown
C has a funny habit of laughing and crawling toward you when you say, “I’m gonna get you!” Hubster decided to switch it up by wearing C’s hooded frog towel.
It only made C laugh harder!
And here’s a little video to enjoy…
Katie Moore is an active writer within the blogging community who discusses maternity, motherhood, prenatal health, childbirth and other topics within this niche. If you have any questions or would like to connect with Katie please contact by visiting her blog, Moore From Katie or her twitter @moorekm26.
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Expecting a baby can be a very exciting time. Towards the third trimester, expectant mothers usually start making preparations for the new little bundle of joy that will be arriving soon. There are several things that can be considered to help prepare for this life changing transition.
With a little planning, preparing for your baby’s arrival can be enjoyable. Important things to focus on include putting together items for the baby’s nursery, packing a bag to take with you to the hospital, and installing a car sear to transport the baby home in.
Items that can be purchased ahead of time for the baby to have in their nursery include disposable and cloth diapers, wipes, receiving blankets, sleepers and onesies. Some important furniture can be a bassinette or crib with fitted sheets, a baby swing or bouncer, baby monitor, soothing sound machine that mimics sounds in the womb, a baby bathtub, and diaper pail can all be purchased ahead of time.
When packing a bag for the hospital, many moms choose to include toiletries, pajamas, a bathrobe, and socks or slippers. To help relax during labor downtime, many moms also want include reading material, an iPod, or a favorite movie. For after delivery, packing nursing bras, comfortable clothing, and a handy camera for capturing your baby’s first precious moments are a must. Also it would be good to make a list of family or friend’s phone numbers and bring you cell phone battery charger to spread the good news.
Other choices that can be decided ahead of time include whether to breastfeed or not, whether to utilize cord blood banking, and whether or not to circumcise the baby if it is a boy. Breastfeeding does pose some benefits, although it does take some practice. The umbilical cord blood can be collected and stored as a medical resource for the family. There are also pros and cons regarding circumcision so those should be weighed and a decision made before the big day.
When it comes to taking your baby home from the hospital, you’ll need to make sure you have a going-home outfit, a weather-appropriate blanket and infant car seat installed. Have your car seat properly installed before you go to the hospital so you can make a smooth transition home. Hospitals will not let a baby leave in a vehicle without a rear facing infant car seat properly installed.
There are many things to think about and prepare before a baby arrives. With a bit of planning, mothers can be more relaxed and ready for the blessed event.
I’ve been doing a great job of not dwelling on our upcoming move. Somehow, I’ve managed not to daydream about what our apartment might look like (we haven’t seen it!). Until now, that is. We’re going to get our keys tomorrow and I cannot wait!
Tomorrow, we’re planning on meeting my parents at our new apartment. They’ll be bringing my old crib, which will become C’s crib. Then C will go home with them for the weekend so that we can move our things in and get settled before picking him up. Hubster’s parents are bringing our trailer full of stuff to the apartment on Saturday and then we’ll officially be moved into our new home!
I am SO excited to set up C’s first room! I really cannot wait to see what our new apartment looks like and put all of our things in their new space. We’re moving from a 1-bedroom apartment to a spacious 3-bedroom – I don’t know what we’ll do with all of our newfound space! Yay!
Hey y’all! You can call me Delilah! I’m the mommy to 5, wife to 1, and warden to a psychotic dog! I’m a
self-confessed socially awkward, southern girl with sass. I share my sometimes-successful attempts at domestication, motherhood, and life in general on my blog, Confessions of a Semi-Domesticated Mama. I’m definitely not the next June Cleaver but my kids are still alive, my house hasn’t been condemned and I still have all my own hair. I’m just a mom- that’s my superpower. Welcome to my Semi-Domesticated Life. I hope you brought wine.
I still have days. You know, those days. The kind that make me want to crawl back in bed with the covers over my head so I can hide from the world. The kind that makes me short tempered and cranky. I get irritated when my kids are being loud or whiny or doing the stuff that kids just do. The kind that makes me feel overwhelmed and inferior. The kind that makes me feel like a bad mom. I have those days more often than I would like to admit. I struggle with being present in the moment with my kids. I always have a running to do list in my head, all the stuff that needs to be done just keeps growing and growing until I feel like I can’t breathe. It’s a vicious cycle that never ends.
I hate the days when I feel irrationally irritated with my kids. I want them to know that I love them more than anything in this world, that they are the sole reason I am still alive, that I would do anything for them, that they were my sunshine on the very darkest of days. There are far too many days when I fall short of making sure they know this. When I yell because I have reached the end of my patience, or when I snap at them out of frustration, I hate myself. I beat myself up, call myself names, and tell myself that I don’t deserve my family.
Postpartum Depression, Anxiety, and Psychosis did this to me. I have this need, deep down inside me, to make up for the last 18 months. To atone for the months where I was emotionally absent from my children. It eats at me all the time. I have flashes of memories from the worst weeks that pierce my heart like daggers because I know my children suffered. I know they felt my distance and they didn’t understand it. How do you atone for these things? How? I worry sometimes that my 21 month old daughter’s bond to my husband is so much greater than her bond to me, simply because he was present during the time I couldn’t be. I’ll be honest, there are many a day where I’m not sure she loves me as much as she loves him. I understand why she wouldn’t but it still wounds something deep inside me to wonder, even briefly, if my child loves me.
This is the reality of life after a Postpartum Mood Disorder. It is not pretty and it is not a path I ever thought I would have to walk. But here I am. It seems like people want to sweep Postpartum Mood Disorders under the rug or hide it behind closed doors so nobody will know. All that accomplishes is making the women walking the same rocky path feel more alone, more isolated and more ashamed. I choose to be one of the few that stand up and talk about my journey. I choose to be honest and transparent about this struggle in the hopes that it will reach just one mom who is still stuck in the black hole.
The stigma must be broken. Women must feel able to ask for help without fear of judgment. Women have to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I wish someone had been there to tell me.
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Thank you for sharing your story, Delilah, and helping break the stigma of postpartum mood disorders.