Binkytowne

Change of Seasons

It's strange having two children of the same sex and preparing to dress up the side kick in clothes the little man wore. I thought I had everything covered with hand me downs. But what I didn't expect was the very visceral reaction I had pulling out baskets of the little man's clothes in preparation for this child. The pajamas especially.

I don't know why but I haven't been able to dress the baby in them. They belong to my first born. They are so him and holding them in my hands brings back everything, the smell of diaper creme and our old house. I swear I can even smell the hand sanitizer they used in the hospital when I pick them up.

I remember how it felt, during those days when I would cry when my husband left to go to work full of fear at spending an entire day alone with a baby. I was so afraid of the unknown that surrounded me. I can sense the cold, it being the middle of winter, when it was dark out more often than it was light. It's been the other way around this summer, my having to draw the shades to keep the hot sunlight out. 

It may seem crazy but it doesn't seem right to put his brothers pajamas on this new person. He is still in the process of showing us who he is. He deserves to be his own baby since I am very well aware he won't be a baby very long. Now that he has started school he will change in little increments that I might not observe minute by minute, but will see wholey when I hold him at the end of the day. I will watch to see if his fingers are a little longer, his hair a little darker or his smile more brilliant.

Because this one smiles. He is the summer to his brothers winter. He sleeps. He chills. He coos and talks. He holds every leaf overhead in his gaze when out walking. He sits next to me and will play with my fingers or tap me with his toes while asking for nothing in return. 

I packed his locker this morning with the same blanket his brother had. Filled the same bottles. He has a new coat but the same hat his brother wore. Despite being born in opposite corners in a climate of extremes, one winter and one summer, some of the fall and spring overlap and meet in the middle. 

Hopefully, as will my boys.

  Finn May, 2005 

Rowan September, 2008

(Photo of Rowan courtesy of Courtney Fisk, Elle Photography)

Change of Seasons

It's strange having two children of the same sex and preparing to dress up the side kick in clothes the little man wore. I thought I had everything covered with hand me downs. But what I didn't expect was the very visceral reaction I had pulling out baskets of the little man's clothes in preparation for this child. The pajamas especially.

I don't know why but I haven't been able to dress the baby in them. They belong to my first born. They are so him and holding them in my hands brings back everything, the smell of diaper creme and our old house. I swear I can even smell the hand sanitizer they used in the hospital when I pick them up.

I remember how it felt, during those days when I would cry when my husband left to go to work full of fear at spending an entire day alone with a baby. I was so afraid of the unknown that surrounded me. I can sense the cold, it being the middle of winter, when it was dark out more often than it was light. It's been the other way around this summer, my having to draw the shades to keep the hot sunlight out. 

It may seem crazy but it doesn't seem right to put his brothers pajamas on this new person. He is still in the process of showing us who he is. He deserves to be his own baby since I am very well aware he won't be a baby very long. Now that he has started school he will change in little increments that I might not observe minute by minute, but will see wholey when I hold him at the end of the day. I will watch to see if his fingers are a little longer, his hair a little darker or his smile more brilliant.

Because this one smiles. He is the summer to his brothers winter. He sleeps. He chills. He coos and talks. He holds every leaf overhead in his gaze when out walking. He sits next to me and will play with my fingers or tap me with his toes while asking for nothing in return. 

I packed his locker this morning with the same blanket his brother had. Filled the same bottles. He has a new coat but the same hat his brother wore. Despite being born in opposite corners in a climate of extremes, one winter and one summer, some of the fall and spring overlap and meet in the middle. 

Hopefully, as will my boys.

  Finn May, 2005 

Rowan September, 2008

(Photo of Rowan courtesy of Courtney Fisk, Elle Photography)

Besides completely freaking out

Things I need(ed) to do before I go to work tomorrow:

Get baby to take bottle (still unsuccessful, by the way, hence the freaking)

Arrange for childcare (In-laws) since he can't start daycare until Monday

Do laundry/wash dishes/put shit away

Cry

Bathe children

Talk to husband who is OUT OF TOWN for work

Freak out - a little

Set up air mattress for in-laws

Wonder if in-laws will be able to get off the air mattress in the morning

Change sheets

Make rice crispy treats. Eat handsome portion while still warm

Get rid of the spider webs I've been ignoring for three months

Cry

Figure out where my non-croc shoes are

Start to freak then realize I have too much to do

Find little bottle for dish soap to pack in pump bag

Prepare Crockpot ingredients for tomorrows's dinner

Pump

Sigh

Besides completely freaking out

Things I need(ed) to do before I go to work tomorrow:

Get baby to take bottle (still unsuccessful, by the way, hence the freaking)

Arrange for childcare (In-laws) since he can't start daycare until Monday

Do laundry/wash dishes/put shit away

Cry

Bathe children

Talk to husband who is OUT OF TOWN for work

Freak out - a little

Set up air mattress for in-laws

Wonder if in-laws will be able to get off the air mattress in the morning

Change sheets

Make rice crispy treats. Eat handsome portion while still warm

Get rid of the spider webs I've been ignoring for three months

Cry

Figure out where my non-croc shoes are

Start to freak then realize I have too much to do

Find little bottle for dish soap to pack in pump bag

Prepare Crockpot ingredients for tomorrows's dinner

Pump

Sigh

Boy, was I wrong

I thought dressing boys would be easy. What could be difficult about dressing a little boy? Boys shoes are cool, throw on some painter jeans and a hip rock n roll graphic tee and you are set. Easy cheesy- right? Sure, if you have an easy going, "whatever" kind of child, but I most certainly don't.

The hat and sunglasses. We can never leave the house without the hat and the sunglasses. Therefore I have two Milwaukee Brewer baseball caps in my radar at all times so if one gets left at school or in his dad's car we can still function. Same goes with the sunglasses. In the photo above, little man is modeling the oh-so-last-years Thomas the Train model. We have since moved on to hot wheels sunglasses; we have at least six pair.

Then there are the shirts: Only shirts with cars, trucks or select sporting activities are approved and for some reason, the one's he really loves the best are the hand me downs from older cousins which are usually over-worn and don't fit. For the entire duration of my hospital stay this summer he wore this shirt: It was two sizes too big, hung down to almost his knees and was covered with Nascars AND Disney characters. Good God. (You don't see sunglasses in this photo but trust me, they were there).

Forget picture day, special occasions or holidays. I'm entirely at the mercy of this child's whims. I know what you must be thinking, I could surely demand that he wear the adorable Old Navy tees I lovingly chose for him with his super excellent Umi kicks, but I gave up on that a long time ago. We have much bigger battles to fight. Clothing has been officially removed from the negotiating table. If he wants to wear an ill-fitting dingy tee shirt with a monster truck on it, so be it.

When I do see cute little boys dressed all in Gap Kids finest I feel a little envy, but then I remind myself that all that? It's really for the parents. A three year old doesn't know that those brown socks don't match the blue Nascar shirt, but they do know when they feel some sense of pride in choosing what to wear and putting it on all by themselves.

This post is part of the special week-long Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast with Polly Pocket Pop ‘N Swap to encourage girls to express themselves in how they dress and how they play. Even if your little fashionista still insists on some outrageous choices, you can cash in on her creativity at MomLogic. Upload a photo of her wackiest outfit, and you’ll get a Pop ‘n Swap sample just for entering!

For more details about how to participate visit The Parent Bloggers Network here.

The boys and my girls

Lets see, there's the diaper bag, diapers, wipes, butt cream, binkies, infant Tylenol, hand sanitizer, burp clothes, nipple shields, bottles, teats, breast pads, labels, onsies, jammies, the car seats, the baby bjorn, the stroller (and the double stroller) the hat, the socks, pants and shirts, the booger sucker outer thing, blankets, the boppy, the pump, the freezer bags, the crib, the pack n play, the mobile, the sheets, the changing pads, the speed read thermometer, the babysitters, the baby soap and those teeny little nail clippers.

Phew. I need all those things.

But what could I really not live without? My sports bras. Oh yeah.

They breathe, they give me support when no else has bothered, they don't immediately scream I'M LEAKING while I'm paying for my Yoplait in the check out isle, they are flexible and can be easily maneuvered to feed. They are comfortable and doubled as a tank top on really hot days. They completely rock.

I have to go back to work this week and the thought of stuffing these D cup wonders into a bra and wearing it ALL DAY is about to make me keel over. I'll do it, but there is no mistaking how much easier they have made my life with baby number two. I've worn one (sometimes two!) every day and I don't know what I would have done without them. 

Write a post about what you absolutely can't do without for this weekend’s PBN Blog Blast, sponsored by Yoplait Kids.  You could win a $200 VISA gift card!

That's a lot of spandex baby.

Boy, was I wrong

I thought dressing boys would be easy. What could be difficult about dressing a little boy? Boys shoes are cool, throw on some painter jeans and a hip rock n roll graphic tee and you are set. Easy cheesy- right? Sure, if you have an easy going, "whatever" kind of child, but I most certainly don't.

The hat and sunglasses. We can never leave the house without the hat and the sunglasses. Therefore I have two Milwaukee Brewer baseball caps in my radar at all times so if one gets left at school or in his dad's car we can still function. Same goes with the sunglasses. In the photo above, little man is modeling the oh-so-last-years Thomas the Train model. We have since moved on to hot wheels sunglasses; we have at least six pair.

Then there are the shirts: Only shirts with cars, trucks or select sporting activities are approved and for some reason, the one's he really loves the best are the hand me downs from older cousins which are usually over-worn and don't fit. For the entire duration of my hospital stay this summer he wore this shirt: It was two sizes too big, hung down to almost his knees and was covered with Nascars AND Disney characters. Good God. (You don't see sunglasses in this photo but trust me, they were there).

Forget picture day, special occasions or holidays. I'm entirely at the mercy of this child's whims. I know what you must be thinking, I could surely demand that he wear the adorable Old Navy tees I lovingly chose for him with his super excellent Umi kicks, but I gave up on that a long time ago. We have much bigger battles to fight. Clothing has been officially removed from the negotiating table. If he wants to wear an ill-fitting dingy tee shirt with a monster truck on it, so be it.

When I do see cute little boys dressed all in Gap Kids finest I feel a little envy, but then I remind myself that all that? It's really for the parents. A three year old doesn't know that those brown socks don't match the blue Nascar shirt, but they do know when they feel some sense of pride in choosing what to wear and putting it on all by themselves.

This post is part of the special week-long Parent Bloggers Network Blog Blast with Polly Pocket Pop ‘N Swap to encourage girls to express themselves in how they dress and how they play. Even if your little fashionista still insists on some outrageous choices, you can cash in on her creativity at MomLogic. Upload a photo of her wackiest outfit, and you’ll get a Pop ‘n Swap sample just for entering!

For more details about how to participate visit The Parent Bloggers Network here.

The boys and my girls

Lets see, there's the diaper bag, diapers, wipes, butt cream, binkies, infant Tylenol, hand sanitizer, burp clothes, nipple shields, bottles, teats, breast pads, labels, onsies, jammies, the car seats, the baby bjorn, the stroller (and the double stroller) the hat, the socks, pants and shirts, the booger sucker outer thing, blankets, the boppy, the pump, the freezer bags, the crib, the pack n play, the mobile, the sheets, the changing pads, the speed read thermometer, the babysitters, the baby soap and those teeny little nail clippers.

Phew. I need all those things.

But what could I really not live without? My sports bras. Oh yeah.

They breathe, they give me support when no else has bothered, they don't immediately scream I'M LEAKING while I'm paying for my Yoplait in the check out isle, they are flexible and can be easily maneuvered to feed. They are comfortable and doubled as a tank top on really hot days. They completely rock.

I have to go back to work this week and the thought of stuffing these D cup wonders into a bra and wearing it ALL DAY is about to make me keel over. I'll do it, but there is no mistaking how much easier they have made my life with baby number two. I've worn one (sometimes two!) every day and I don't know what I would have done without them. 

Write a post about what you absolutely can't do without for this weekend’s PBN Blog Blast, sponsored by Yoplait Kids.  You could win a $200 VISA gift card!

That's a lot of spandex baby.

All you need is love

You know how sometimes things just come together? Yesterday I was rocking out in the car and the song I was grooving on ended just as I pulled into the garage and was shutting off the engine and I thought to myself Isn't that AWESOME when that happens? Then I thought I should get a life, but still, it was cool.

I was just thinking about composing a post with some links because we are heading out of town for a few days for a mini family vacation before I go back to work next week (NEXT WEEK GAH!) when I found Kimberly had thrown some lovely link love my way.

This reward came with instructions:

- You can put the award picture on your blog.
- Link to the person who awarded you.
- Nominate at least seven other blogs that you love.
- Put up links to those blogs.
- Leave messages with the blogs you nominated.

So there you have it. Serendipity at it's finest:

1. Bon from Crib Chronicles. Everything and I mean everything she writes is like a dense, rich, chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting. It leaves you wanting more. (She is also excused from any meme madness- she's got a brand new Posey to tend to.)

2. I am Bossy. I too, am bossy, but she does it so much better.

3. Oh, The Joys. Fresh, funny, real life.

4. Whiskey in My Sippy Cup. I found her because of BlogHer and am now officially addicted.

5. Mocha Momma.Hot and fiesty, but sweet and smooth.

This is only five blogs but it's five o'clock (AGAIN with the all-coming-together-business) and I need to go crash for an hour before the little man wakes up and demands that we leave NOW for approximately three hours until we can go.

Bonus:

Chicken and Cheese, 24/7 and Mayberry- you already know I love them.

All you need is love

You know how sometimes things just come together? Yesterday I was rocking out in the car and the song I was grooving on ended just as I pulled into the garage and was shutting off the engine and I thought to myself Isn't that AWESOME when that happens? Then I thought I should get a life, but still, it was cool.

I was just thinking about composing a post with some links because we are heading out of town for a few days for a mini family vacation before I go back to work next week (NEXT WEEK GAH!) when I found Kimberly had thrown some lovely link love my way.

This reward came with instructions:

- You can put the award picture on your blog.
- Link to the person who awarded you.
- Nominate at least seven other blogs that you love.
- Put up links to those blogs.
- Leave messages with the blogs you nominated.

So there you have it. Serendipity at it's finest:

1. Bon from Crib Chronicles. Everything and I mean everything she writes is like a dense, rich, chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting. It leaves you wanting more. (She is also excused from any meme madness- she's got a brand new Posey to tend to.)

2. I am Bossy. I too, am bossy, but she does it so much better.

3. Oh, The Joys. Fresh, funny, real life.

4. Whiskey in My Sippy Cup. I found her because of BlogHer and am now officially addicted.

5. Mocha Momma.Hot and fiesty, but sweet and smooth.

This is only five blogs but it's five o'clock (AGAIN with the all-coming-together-business) and I need to go crash for an hour before the little man wakes up and demands that we leave NOW for approximately three hours until we can go.

Bonus:

Chicken and Cheese, 24/7 and Mayberry- you already know I love them.