Party Planning!

Namastè!

Good early, still-dark-outside morning to you!

I have been feverishly planning my baby's birthday this morning. Been up since around 3.30, and the baby joined me from 4 to 5. Unfortunately I have a hard time settling down to sleep once I've been roused, so here I am...

We have a super cute theme planned for the littlest one's biggest day. I've already begun preparing the house (as far as I can with a little velcro koala baby on my chest) & invites have been sent.

I am beyond elated to put my crafty mama skills to work. I may even pin this to my Pinterest board, as very few components are store-bought. This is the first time I've had free v ruin to create a birthday theme, and I am beyond excited. We are celebrating with a theme based on his very first favorite character: Mickey Mouse.

I had hoped for fair weather so we could get outside and do games in the yard, but it looks like Georgia isn't done wintering yet.

I cannot wait to see his face when we turn the house into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for his day. We have been feverishly working to make sure every little detail is good to go, and in the next few days I'll give a sneak peak or two on our Instagram. Some of our favorite Etsy vendors have sent sweet little tokens of joy, which we look forward to showcasing!

I decided to still keep the party itself rather small, but I'm going all out for his gifts and decorations. We're serving his newest favorite food also. (Luckily for the guests, he never quite took to puree!)

If I say much more, I'll end up saying too much. *chuckles*

The trick to keeping a secret, or surprise, is just shutting up about it. Soooo...*zips lips*

I'll be on Instagram this week with a few previews, as well as here on the blog with some quick and easy crafts for birthdays and beyond.

NOTE: Yes, I can (and likely still will have to) spend money...but this time around I'm going to also spend something more precious: TIME! I have never had the experience of making party decorations and cooking/baking all the food. I usually just splash out a couple hundred bucks and then bribe my brother to help Hubby Namastè put things together. Princess Namastè asked for a Pinterest birthday when she turned 10, which blew me away. (I was already catalog shopping for her theme.) When time came to start planning Baby Namastè's big day, my princess sat down beside me and said,

"Let's make a party together for him. It'll be special to talk about, and when he sees his pictures when he's older, his friends won't have the exact stuff."

For her ace in the hole,

"You shouldn't waste your talent. You make prettier stuff than Party City and you can use the money to buy him toys you can't make. First birthdays are huge."

She is big on originality. That kid sneezes awesome.

Anyway...

I'm excited. But I'm also exhausted. I'm going to catch a few winks now. I may fire up the social media again later on, provided my littlest one is on the continued mend.

Namastè!

-- Tayè K. ♡

WASH YOUR DAMN HANDS & Other Updates

Namastè!

I'm one exhausted mama this morning, but I felt like I was neglecting y'all a bit. Don't feel too shut out. Baby Namastè's been up since 4, alternating between crying and eating. (Spare me the sleep training advice--this kid has a schedule but has been out of whack due to feeling really bad...fever and chills bad.)

Even though my baby is eight days from being a year old,  he is still a baby. That means I still expect people to wash their hands before touching him. Cover their mouths if they must cough in his vicinity. STAY AWAY if they know they are sick or have been exposed to communicable illness.

"You're at home with him anyway, so how is it such a big deal! It's not like you're missing work?"

Really, bucko?

Illnesses like step, flu, and pneumonia are scary. They are even more so when a child is too young to articulate what they are feeling. All they can do is cry, or stop eating, or sleep a lot more (or less.) For my babies, it is always the same: crying jags, burning hot temps, and sleeping as little as humanly possible. Baby Namastè's been up nearly every two hours LIKE CLOCKWORK.

After the meds have worn off (and believe me, they do--babies metabolize everything so much faster, and the effects of those dreaded medications often last longer than any relief they provide) there's the round-the-clock re-dosing.  If the baby is still under the weather despite meds, then comes the comfort. The nursing. The pumping when he can't/won't. When he is awake, so too am I. He clings to me, and I oblige because despite being my big almost toddler boy, he is still simply my littlest baby.

Note: Not a complaint. When the kid needs Mama, the kid gets Mama. It's my job, but more so my honor. I am beyond tired but that's an outlier.

In the meantime, my usually-immaculate home suffers. Laundry is going unfolded. The dishwasher is getting less of a workout because there is no cooking when I cannot rest, only takeout or the healthiest fast-fixings I can cobble together whilst balancing a wailing/screeching/barely sleeping/unhappy baby on my chest.

Any work that I needed to do from home? Yeah, that's not getting done. So yes, I do miss work when the kids fall ill. I certainly wouldn't shove them off on someone else. They need mommy's care always, but especially when they're not feeling well. Regardless of deadlines or due dates, I must hunker down and help my littles heal. That's not martyrdom, that's mommy'ing.

But the killer in all this for me is, how easily most sickness can be prevented.

Hubby Namastè and I are fastidious hand washers. We wash hands and we generally stay on top of our health game. If one of us is exposed to something, we hawkeye for symptoms and treat accordingly. At no point do we just "wait and see." It is not uncommon to see Adults Namastè was their hands periodically just because! We try to keep germs at bay as much as possible despite his very public job.

Note: I do not like the colloquial use of the word, germaphobe. Simply practicing good handwashing, hygiene, and housekeeping doesn't make a person a germaphobe. It makes them clean. Phobias are nothing to make light of, nor is OCD. "I'm OCD about *insert practice*." NO, you're fastidious. OCD is a thing, a serious thing, and people who suffer do not make light of it, so nor do I.

I digressed, didn't I?

Back to it.

I'm so beyond tired, y'all. I'm typing this with my little 18-pound noodle resting in the crook of my arm. It's the first real rest he's gotten all night. No fever, but I assume a combination of new teeth and residual don't-feel-good are likely wreaking havoc on his Circadian rhythms (i.e. internal clock) and he's finding it harder to get to sleep and stay asleep.

This wasn't my usual upbeat update. *frown*

Such is life!

I've received a flurry of emails about why I haven't written in a while. Truth is, I'm beat! I was in the thick of birthday planning when the baby took ill, and between that and some personal storms, I've just been focused on getting to the proverbial silver lining.

In the meantime, WASH YOUR HANDS.

Namastè!

-- Tayè K ♡

New Path, New Challenges...But I'm Ready.

Namastè!

Very happy February 2, to you!

This morning I'm up, and I'm feeling rather pensive.

I'm realizing Baby Namastè will be a toddler soon. *fist pump*

...and I have limited foresight about this new chapter.

When he was born, before even, we had mapped out how we wanted his first few days to go. Then week,, which stretched into months. Now, on the cusp of the culmination of his first year, we are simply living in the moment.

When a baby is conceived, a new set of parents is. When a baby is developing, so too are a new mom and dad. At birth, there now exists a brand new baby--and a brand new Mommy and Daddy. We can plan and prepare as we wish but ultimately the baby decides how the show plays out.

As Baby Namastè's big boy personality emerges, I am so impressed. I believe he's going to be even-tempered (thank goodness!), as he is generally content. He likes "reading" and can be found sitting with a book on his lap, turning the pages after giving each one careful consideration. Our little one is already a scholar. I also think he'll be fairly athletic. He's strong. He can climb (oy!) and  he is incredibly agile--boy can that kid cover some ground when the mood strikes!

Our erstwhile baby is becoming a really cool young lad, if I do say so myself.

So come my "wonders." I wonder how long he will continue to nurse. I wonder if nursing an older baby will be much easier than nursing a little newbie. I wonder where the support is for moms with older nurslings! I wonder if I can continue to be that for myself.

I wonder about lighter fare as well. Who will this kid be? Will he like Gymboree? Will he like the swings or the slide more at the playground? When we unveil his ride-on car will he be a careful driver or a reckless yard ranger, decimating rhododendrons and azaleas in his quest to burn rubber?

I don't know.

I'm really in no rush to know.

I'm enjoying things as they come, especially regarding my boy. I will enjoy him being this age, for this time, until it's time to enjoy the next stage. None are easy but all are amazing.

Namastè!

-- Tayè K. ♡