June's Channeling Martha Moment

Now that Father's Day is over - and it's the last day in June - I can blog about about my June's channeling Martha moment. As I get older, I find it harder to think of good gifts to give my parents and even though they always say not to get them anything, I have a difficult time doing that. When I was a kid it was always about making things to give them; and no matter what it was that I made I was always proud of it as I handed it over to them. So this Father's Day, I decided to go back to that time of homemade gifts and made my dad something he could really enjoy, food!

The June issue of Martha Stewart Living was a good one with lots of fun ideas; much better than May's issue. There were a couple of different ideas for Father's Day gifts that I had to choose from. I decided to go with the Nuts and Bolts Snack Mix because my dad is a big snack mix fan. Another thing I liked about it was that it was somewhat healthy and since my dad is eating healthier now, I thought it would be a nice treat without the guilt.

The recipe calls for cayenne pepper which can really make it feel like you swallowed a ball of fire if you're not careful, so I went light with it. And even so, it still ended up being pretty spicy. It wasn't the easiest recipe to do when you're trying to take care of an energized eight month old; you have to take it out of the oven every 20 minutes to stir the snack mix for a total of almost two hours. I also had trouble finding miniature pretzels so I had to use the regular sized ones. All in all, it turned out great and I was even able to get it shipped to him to arrive on time. That's an accomplishment on it's own as being on time with gifts and cards has been a struggle for me lately. Though I wish I could've been there to give my dad his gift in person, he was touched that I made him something from the heart. 

Mixed Feelings

This afternoon I will be getting on a plane to go down to San Diego for work and I have very mixed feelings about it. San Diego is a beautiful city with ideal weather and gorgeous views; a perfect vacation destination. And while I'm looking forward to basking in the wonderfulness that is San Diego, I'm not looking forward to leaving my little girl and husband for three days.

This is the first time that I'm traveling this far away and gone for this long. When I dropped her off at school today she looked at me like she knew I was leaving her. So of course I started crying when I got in the car. This little girl has turned my once strong persona into a pile of mush. It's crazy but I wouldn't have it any other way. I just hope I don't make a scene in front of my co-workers when we're sitting at the airport this afternoon waiting to board the plane.

Though I'm going to miss my little family like crazy, I am hoping to be able to enjoy this little break of freedom. I love Mallory more than anything, but I still like having me-time too. I get to hang out with some cool co-workers, meet up with my BFF, and stay at this amazing place: Hyatt Manchester Grand.

I hope that while I'm away Mallory is good for Jody. This will be his first time playing single dad during the week, which is much harder than on the weekends. More responsibility, more details to remember, and less time to do it all in. With all that he's accountable for on his own these next few days, he might actually miss me more than I will miss him...

Swimming Buddy

Her new duck swimming buddy was a hit, but she still prefers you to hold her while in the pool. I'm sure she'll like it more if we continue to use it.

Chubby Ballerina

I finally bought a bathing suit for Mallory this weekend. I've just been using onesies when there's been a need for her to get into a body of water. Mainly because it just recently started warming up so buying a bathing suit kept slipping my mind. So to beat the heat today, my chubby ballerina got to test out her new suit and her new wading pool. She's still not a huge fan of the pool but she's getting much better.

Representing

Aunt Sasha got Mallory a couple of Oakland A's onesies in honor of Jody's favorite baseball team. So yesterday she was representing dad all day in her cute, pink A's gear.

Eight Months

Here we are. Another month has gone by and Mallory is now eight months old. She's getting bigger, smarter, and stronger; developing more personality, character, and attitude. I was told by her teacher at daycare that if she's sitting next to this one little boy Nathan, she gets mad and throws a fit until they move her - as if though she is disgusted by him. Not sure where she got that attitude from....(me!).

She's getting better at standing by herself using toys and furniture for support. And even though she's thisclose to crawling, she still gives up too quickly. She has a new crush; this time on Moose A. Moose from Nick Jr. If she hears his voice she will ignore everything and everyone around her to pay attention to him. After a brief stint with only speaking with d's and b's, Mallory is back to saying m's which means 'mama' comes from her mouth constantly. I still won't count it as her first word until she associates it with me, but I'm sure she'll get it soon. Her bottom teeth that sprouted last month are getting bigger and with the way she's been acting lately, we think the top teeth will make an appearance soon.

Loves to be outside playing and exploring. Without hesitation she'll put grass, leaves, or twigs straight into her mouth. She won't try to eat them, just wants to taste it I guess. And speaking of taste, she is starting to develop dislikes when it comes to baby food. Not too long ago she would eat anything you gave her; now she's more picky. Unfortunately it's all green veggies. So now I hide them in her rice cereal and cover that up with a food that she does like. Her favorite by far right now is bananas which isn't surprising since bananas have a lot of sugar.

She has become very grabby, especially with glasses. When you're holding her close and she locks eyes with the glasses, she will relentlessly reach for them until you either give up and let her have them, or put her down so she can't get to them. She has this same determination when it comes to wanting to stand during bath time. What she doesn't understand is that she's just not quite there yet and it's too slippery for her to get a good grip with her feet. I'll balance her in between my legs but she always tries to make a break for independence. That desire for independence got her into a situation last week where she fell and nicked her head on the linen cabinet. Bumps and bruises are becoming more and more inevitable now. And of course she wants you to cuddle her and show her extra love when she does get a boo-boo. We are so in love with this little cuddle bug of ours!

Minnie Mouse

When I put Mallory in this outfit, Jody says it reminds him of Minnie Mouse. I guess I see it. The butt on the outfit doesn't look like the Disney character though. Pure summer, is what the butt says to me. Oh, and her eyes in this first picture are crazy blue. Wow, I love my daughter's eyes.

Cruising the Halls

May's Channeling Martha Moment

Well, it's already June and looking back at my May posts I notice that May's channeling Martha moment is missing. Huh, I have no idea why it's missing. Must be the gremlins in the world wide web that stole it. Okay, okay, that's not the truth. The truth is that I just didn't do one. And I don't mean that I forgot to write a post about the project, I literally mean that I didn't do a project from the May issue at all. And it wasn't because I didn't have time, it was because I didn't really care to spend the time or money on any of the projects. I guess even Martha Stewart and her team of miracle workers can't have perfect ideas every single month for me to try.

However, I think I might make it up this month. The June issue has at least three projects that I want to do and two of them are mandatory because Father's Day is coming up. But I won't be able to share those projects until after the holiday has passed because I don't want to ruin any surprises - let's just hope I remember to post them!

Buzzzzz

Mallory has a teething ring that vibrates when you either squeeze one of the circles or chomp down on one. She will sometimes be able to turn it on by herself, but still hasn't quite figured out how it happens. You have to squeeze it pretty hard so at first we'll push it for her to get her interested. Now when it doesn't vibrate for her she makes her own buzzing sound to compensate; it's adorable!