Happy First Birthday, Jamayia!

I went in to wish her good morning & happy birthday and she greeted me with a kiss

I figured I needed to do something special, rather than just roam the mall. Today was her day–let’s head to the zoo. First shock of all–she kept the hat on the entire time we were there! Anyone who knows Jamayia knows she h-a-t-e-s wearing a hat. Hmmm, must be no coincidence that the word “hate” starts with the word “hat”. She enjoyed the sun, the heat and the cool mosquito repellant (hence the oil in the pic). She loves staring up at the Winnie the Pooh statue and wouldn’t even look at the camera.

The we headed home in hopes of a much deserved & much needed nap. No dice for me! So, instead we headed to Wal-Mart on a quick run and back home. Then Mommy set up for the extrememly mini-party. The real party is on Sunday, but you’ve gotta do something on the actual birth date itself. After all, you only turn 1 once.

The very tired Jamayia did well, acting like the little princess she is. She was all smiles at one point.

She wasn’t a big fan of the whole candle thing. I’m sure that’ll change in a few years. Mind you, she did enjoy seeing the smoke after the candle was blown out. Actually, she was trying her best to catch the smoke.
Wow, that year sure flew by. Hard to believe that it was only 1 year ago that I was in a loonnnngggggggg labour, anticipating the arrival of a little baby. Here’s to many more, my darling!
Yes, my loyal reader fans, there will be pics coming from Sunday!

I Bet You Didn’t Know How Well I Can Multitask??

Today, there were some repair guys working on the water pipes in our building. We were notified that the water would be off between 10 am and 3:30 pm. Hello, I have a baby. These kinds of water shut off ain’t cool!! But, I filled up and had enough water for what I’d need during that time frame. They usually don’t shut it off for the entire period that they claim to need anyways.

So, it’s about 2 pm. I’m sitting at the computer, eating lunch. Jamayia was napping away. Thankfully, she went down at around 12 pm. I’m wearing a white, shapeless and oversized t-shirt, black yoga-type pants which are also oversized, and no bra. (I’m in the house–why wear a bra. Makes it easier access for the nursing baby.)

**Brrriiinnngggg…..Brrriiinnnnngggggg…..**

Uh oh–that’s the fire alarm going off. Calmly, Sabrina-style, I was so not amused, because I’m 99.999% sure that it’s the repair guys at fault here. Nevertheless, one must take ringing fire bells seriously. I really did consider changing my pants, at least to something that would stay up on their own… But, nope. I’m the Mommy–I’ve got to set the right example for the Baby. When alarm sounds, you exit building.

Instead, I grabbed baby, car keys, celly & baby bag (which were all together) and exited the place. On the way out, I met a neighbour who was looking to see if people were actually evacuating, to know if she should actually bother. Can’t we just play along sometimes?!?! I walked down the seven, yes 7, flights of stairs while holding Jamayia in one hand, the baby bag on the other shoulder and holding up my pants. My only amusement at this point was my Girl who found the whole senario hilarious and was laughing at the guy behind me. LOL.

I step outside to find another clueless neighbour asking if she can’t get in the door I just came from. Ummm…HELLO, fire alarm is going off. It means exit, not enter, a building!! So, we stood outside for less than five minutes. It was so serious that the fire department didn’t even respond to this call! And we were allowed back in.

The only problem–the elevators weren’t functioning yet. They shut down when the fire alarm goes off. So, since white tee me didn’t want to sit and wait in the lobby, I had to what–that’s right–climb all those stairs back up. Go Sabrina! Another 7 flights, this time uphill, holding a baby, a baby bag & my pants up.

The moral of this story? There are a few. Quit going braless while wearing white tees while in the privacy of your home. You never know when the fire alarm may go off. Always wear proper fitting pants. It’s just easier to function. Make sure you hire repair people who know how to work without tripping fire alarms.

The next joke–the alarm went off again about 90 mins later–and no one left the building!

I Am Mommy, Hear Me Roar

I was in the process of putting Jamayia down for a nap. She’d fallen asleep on my chest, while lightly pacing her room. Just as I was going to put her in the crib, I noticed a piece of lint moving on her BundleMe which was on the floor, across from the crib. And the lint was moving quickly. Then it clicked–lint doesn’t move, but bugs do!

Ewwwww (inwardly, of course. I wasn’t going to wake a sleeping baby). But then I had to make a split decision. Put her down, then handle the menace. Or tackle the critter while holding the sleeping princess. The latter won out (she’s a light sleeper when you’re in her space).

While holding the baby in one hand, I grabbed a kleenex, gracefully knelt down and grabbed the tiny bug. I missed the first time, but got it on the second grab. Stood up, went and disposed of the kleenex. Returned to the room and lay Jamayia down.

Ain’t no bugs gonna be eating my child!

Adventures in Babysitting

I did something I hadn’t done in years.

I babysat. Big deal, you say–lots of people babysit. Babysitting is no issue with me. However, it becomes a whole new experience when you have your own 11 mth old child to take care of and a newborn. Add to the fact that my dear daughter isn’t used to sharing Mommy with a needy infant and we get fun times at Sabrina’s expense.

So, my cousin needed to run out for a necessity. Who to call but me, the cousin who keeps saying “holla if you need anything”. She holla’d alright. I arrived on time. She told me how to mix the formula (yes, my girl has never had a drop of formula) and I was armed with celly numbers. She’d just fed the baby, and he should stay sleeping for the next couple hours. Besides, she was only running to Wal-Mart for something. Wal-Mart is about 7 minutes away from her house.

Reality was that she was gone longer than expected. And baby actually woke up. Like any newborn, they only awake to eat. So, I got the bottle ready and took my girl up to see him. Then came my dilemma. I needed to cuddle the baby and feed him, and still needed and extra 2 arms to take care of my own child. Uhhhhhh…. Uhhhhhhh… Good thing I pray for strength. I picked up baby and fed him first. Then mine decided it was a good time to try and grab his socks and then the bottle from his mouth. I kept her off him and managed to keep his meal uninterrupted. All in all, it ended well. His mommy came home just as he finished the bottle.

Props to the moms with 2+ kids. I know it’ll get easier. Once Jamayia’s used to her cousin, taking care of both should be a breeze. This adventure though made me seriously consider the timeline/age gap that I should have between children. Don’t worry, that 5 minutes of juggling wasn’t enough to scare me off of expanding my family.

And my original offer still stands. Holla if you need me, Cousin.

My Birthday

In case you missed it (and some of you did, but you’re forgiven), my birthday was Friday, June 22.

So, how was it? Turned out different. The past couple years, I’d get slightly discouraged just before my birthday because while I’d like to do something somewhat grand & memorable, that just doesn’t happen. Come birthday time, I realize how few close friends I really have. While I know a lot of people, that doesn’t always mean that I’d necessarily share such a significant day with just anyone. Hmm, maybe when I blew out my candles, I should’ve wished for more friends. Ha ha! I didn’t even have a cake…yet….

I originally had planned to wake up early, and spend the day with my darling girl. I wanted to head to the Zoo first thing in the morning, and stay for an hour, then come home for her nap. In the afternoon, I was thinking to head to the mall for some purely indulgent, yet unnecessary, birthday splurge. Once Hubby got home, I’d see what to do for dinner.

What really happened on Friday??

Baby Girl work up earlier than predicted. Then my mom called to pass on birthday greetings and let me know that Baby Boy Cousin had arrived. From there, my day went topsy-turvy. I was thrilled to share my birthday with him. When my child woke up (after 11 am), I dropped her off to play with Grandma, and went to meet the new baby. I took some pics, then went back to my child. She ate, then we headed to the mall. I bought diapers, wipes & bum cream for the newborn and a couple things for myself. Then dropped that off. Then home, to find that Hubby wanted to surprise me and had taken the afternoon off (without telling me) and wasted it at home alone. Hello!!! He should’ve called me, I would’ve changed my plans in an instant. He wanted to do dinner, but that’s postponed until later this week.

Overall, it was a full day and went alright. I don’t mind sharing my birthday this time. Although, when I turn 30, the day’s mine!