Tally Talk

Weekend Recap

Been a bad blogger, woops. Ollie had a fever Thursday and I usually don't update on the weekend anyway, hence my absence. We headed out to my parents house in Lancaster this weekend for a mini vacation. My mom picked us up after work on Friday. Even though it takes a little longer due to traffic, I still wouldn't have her leave work early to get us, that's just silly. Friday night we just hung out and let my parents cuddle Ollie and spoil him with thier affection. Ollie gets really excited when his papa talks to him and trys really hard to communicate back.
Saturday we went to the local Goodwill that also has a discount Amish mart inside. I picked up a Carters sleeper, book, GAP airplane hoodie, Oshkosh onesie, and wooden toy car for the little man. Such great deals too. Then a little later, with Ollie strapped to me, Dave, Papa and I went on a little walk to see the horses out in the field behind thier house. I really love horses, but honestly their size slightly scares me! For dinner that night Ollie had more sweet potatos while we scarfed down chicken and waffles with mashed potatos corn. I liked the chicken maple gravy the best. When me and my mom team up, our cooking powers combined, are unstoppable ha! We left Sunday, a little while after going to an indoor flea market. I was trapped in one of the aisle's by an old couple oogling Ollie and making me feel like a I NEEDED a quilt for him. I was polite to them but couldn't help but squirm away as they stared at my giant plugs and piercings, no doubt wondering "who gave her that kid!?". We went to my Aunt Carole's house after that for a shirt visit. Ollie was a fuss pot the whole time and it really bummed me out my aunt didn't get to see him happy. We plan on visiting again really soon.
So far Ollie has had sweet potatos, apples, sweet peas, and pears. He seems to enjoy them all, but really loves the potatos. Laundry has been increased due to this new diet as well. Today I finally got around to cleaning and putting everything away after this weekend. It makes me sad that our beautiful bassinet, Ollies godmother gave to me at my shower, is a freakin laundry basket! Ugh. One day I'll get all that stuff figured out! I really need to find a good home for all this newborn stuff he's outgrown! He's only 13.4 lbs but he's 25.5 inches tall. Lean & Mean! He's already in 6 month clothing. And at only 19 weeks as of Sunday, it's looking like he's gonna be in 12 month clothing by 9 months!





Our new "trick" to getting him to poop (which btw is turning solid and stinky and gross) is water. Just a little at dinner seems to help *loosen* all those new solid foods going in, coming out. Okay now that I've grossed you all out, happy Monday!

The Sweetest Potato

Ollie had his 4 month checkup today. He's 18 weeks old as of last Sunday. My how these weeks fly. I was petrified the pedi would scold me for feeding him cereal at 4 months and that he wasn't ready, and we went against advice and blah blah blah. But instead she asked how much he ate, how often, if he was still feeding every hour (which he is ugh), and if he still seemed hungry. Then, after I answered all those questions, she totally surprised me by telling us we could start purée's! Only a breakfast and a dinner, but still, that's HUGE. So we went out and bought some organic baby food, since I don't have a food processor yet. He ate sweet potatos tonight, for the first time. And he loved it! He ate the whole thing, granted it was only 2.5 oz, it was a lot for such a little guy. It was amazing to watch him get so excited over food. He was squealing and cooing as he spit food at me and ate so good off his spoon. Can't wait for breakfast tomorrow, apples : )



I'll leave you with this little gem of a video : ) Happy Wednesday!

Video From Tonight

Weekend Recap

This weekend we really didn't do too much Saturday or Sunday. Friday we traveled from Glenolden to Center City, Philadelphia for a day trip. It was the first time Ollie has been in the city and not in my belly. We had him in the carrier and boarded the train. I'll admit it was a little scary at first but once he fell a sleep on my chest, I knew he was comfortable. We ate some breakfast and headed toward Rittenhouse, a very popular park. It was kinda cold, and the sun was no where to be seen. We stopped into Urban Outfitters, my old job, and said "hi!" to my friend Lou as he rang me up for a ring stand on sale! We headed over to the Children's Boutique and Ollie cooed over an overpriced Elmo plush. After a diaper change in the local Barnes & Noble, we met up with my old friend Alison. She's a nanny herself, and a lover of all things baby. She held Ollie and talked to him as he smiled and screamed. He's still getting use to the idea of people besides us holding him. After hanging out for awhile, our friend Gabby stopped by to say "hi!" and give Ollie a hug. After Gabby left, my best friend and Ollie's Godmother, Sally came to meet us. We said goodbye to Alison and headed toward the train station for our ride back home.






Sally hung out with us until the next day until her train came. She had work early the next day and doesn't live very close, so away she went. We love having her over and I always have the best time gossiping with her and making fun of people we don't like. She's been by my side for almost 8 years now and I'm glad she's Ollie's godmother.



Here's some silly pictures of Ollie from over the weekend. He never takes the same picture twice.



Hope your weekend was good! Happy Monday!

Topic Thursday: Babylegs

When I first saw a pair of Babylegs online, I thought to myself "why would anyone need those?". Then I got pregnant and signed up for like 10 different baby "steal" sites. One of the sites was having a deal on Babylegs, $8 shipped. So after extensive reading and trying to understand *still* "what are these REALLY for?!", I bought a pair. I bought a pair of regular sized ones with puzzle print on them. When they showed up about a week later, Dave was interested in what I bought. I pulled them out of the package, he looked at me puzzled..." why'd you buy yourself leg warmers? It's like a million degrees out!". I shook my head and chuckled... "Thier not for me! Their for the baby!". Once again a puzzled look..."Why does the baby need leg warmers?". I stopped, hmm...good point. Why does the baby *need* these? I put them in our "baby box" and didn't think about them again till we moved. I unpacked them after Ollie was born and had them sitting in his sock drawer..staring at me everytime I got a pair of socks out. Up until a month and a half ago I *STILL* had no idea what they were reallllyyy for. Till one day I didn't feel like putting Ollie in pants and was looking around for something else... Low and behold...BABYLEGS. I was in love. Changing his diaper was quicker. They didn't bunch up when holding him. They looked ADORABLE. He was warm. I finally knew what the big deal was. Dave calls them "crazylegs" by the way haha. That week I searched Amazon and found a smaller infant sized pair for another great deal of $4.95 shipped. So now he has 2 pairs, and I'm hoping Zippy and Papa will buy him more. His grandparents are great that way, always taking notice of the small things we like. My dad loves the babylegs now too. I made us all firm believers.

Valentine's Day Massacre

Valentine's day this year was bittersweet. The day itself was pretty sweet, the night portion...not so much. It wasn't anything to do with not having romance or the right setting, it was just...other crap. Instead of getting to spend some quiet time together, snuggled on the couch, it was spent yelling, and complaining and venting to each other. Even though it wasn't perfect I wouldn't trade it for the the world...things like that just make me love and trust Dave even more. He is my best friend and truly my soulmate. I love him.
For V-day this year I decided to "think outside the box". I got both Ollie and Dave vintage valentine cards from the 50's. Ollie got new jammies, and a pacifier holder for his Soothie. I got Dave a variety package of candied and chocolate bacons and a pocket size comic book. He also stepped outside the box and got me an Ergo Backpack diaper bag (which we desperately needed) and some chocolates. But the best thing was this homemade card : )



The best thing about yesterday was that Ollie's main gift was a trip to the park for the first time! It was in the 60's here so I wrapped him up and tested about our baby carrier and away we went. It was amazing. He was looking all around smiling and wide eyed. He was really taken back by all the different senses. When we got to the park we put him in the baby swing with a blanket around him and watched as he decided whether he wanted to cry or laugh! He didn't do either. He was kinda freaked out, but eventually began to enjoy it!







Hope your Valentine's Day was as good as mine, or even better!

Thinking happy thoughts

This last weekend was pretty uneventful for the most part. Oliver has continued eating rice cereal in small amounts. He'll take down about 5 baby spoons worth and the rest ends up on his face, bib, hands and clothes. It's really funny. He's adorable. He'll be 4 months this Thursday and is currently 17 weeks old. Time flies by I swear. It's insane how big he is.



He spends a lot of time cooing and trying to talk. Baby talk is impossible not to smile at. You can't turn away, or try and not mimick it. It's just adorable. He's mastered "Hi!" it's a little long winded sometimes and jarrbled other times, but 9 times outta 10, it's a clear "hi!". He has also learned to grab things now. He will grab anything...any-thing. My poor hair, plugs and septum ring are beggin for this stage to end soon! I know I'm asking for the impossible, but it's worth a try!



The last couple of days he's also been "talking" to his puppy from grandma and Elmo from his Zippy(my mom, long story). He loves holding on to them and dropping them so I can pick them up over and over again. My silly boy is learning how I'd do anything for him...uh oh : )

Letter to my anonymous stalker: long time no screaming match?

This is post was suppose to be about the weekend, and Valentines Day. I'll post about that later, but for now I wanna talk about something a little different and possibly off color. Some of you may not know me in person, but if we have met, you know I am a very determined and stubborn person. I do not take shit....from ANYONE. I will lie and cheat and steal if it means getting revenge against those who've done me wrong. I am not a person who holds grudges, my best friend of almost 8 years will tell you that. I've forgiven almost all the people who have wronged me. Some got there "just desserts" and some didn't. Either way I don't care. There's a select few I can't, absolutely won't, ever, never, forgive...and by some I mean JUST ONE. I've never hated anyone in my life. I don't "hate", I just don't. But if you mess with my family, god forbid, you mess with my son or my hubby, you're.dead.to.me. I don't care what ridiculous excuses or stories you can conjour up to make those around you believe your crap, you still don't exist in my world. I don't count you as a person. My dad always use to scare me with fibs like "all liers end up in jail"....I wish that were true. I wish that karma was a tangible thing I could pay off like a hitman. I wish you didn't exist. I've know a LOT of shitty people in my lifetime, some of those people that are in jail, or their own personal hell or even dead. But those people committed crimes or did shifty things, they did what they did for drugs or money or even "fame". They didn't do what they did just to hurt someone cause they were bored or jealous or petty. At least they got something out of their crime. My point; apparently being a bitch can't get you arrested,(if it could i'd be in for life) damn shame.
Basically what I'm getting to with all this is that I'm not all talk. Even when I was pregnant I still was ready to defend myself and my unborn son (which by the way was born with both arms incase you were wondering?) I don't write this blog for anyone inparticular, I wrote because I can. I never write bullshit and I've never written anything mean or to intending to hurt anyones feelings (feel free to re-read everything I've written and you'll see that). I don't have time to intentionally sit here "thinking of ways to put people down" or "talk shit" on anyone. I have a kid to take care of, which may not seem like a lot to those of you with more important and challenging work, such as work or school, but it is a lot of work. I don't have much free time if any (I write this while breastfeeding my son even). But in the free time I do have I like to daydream of a world where evil, malicious, manipulative, coniving, and vile people don't exist.
Well with all that said, and I say this anyone who challenges my words or acts to intend they serve a false purpose, I'll give one last word of advice... Blood is thicker then water, my son is my blood, I'd die for him, and that means ANYONE who decides it's a good idea to talk about him or compare him, or purposely degrade him in anyway, is my perosnal enemy. And just remember enemy is always the loser in the battle of good vs. evil. With that, I wish my readers, anonymous and non, happy reading.

Topic Thursday: Swimming while pregnant

Thats right. Swimming, while pregnant. Might not seem like a lot to those who haven't been pregnant or tried to swim while pregnant. Trust me, it can be challenging. I've loved the water my whole life. My parents took me to the shore every year since I was a toddler. I loved swimming and playing and especially diving. I would spend hours in our above ground pool. Even though, true be told, I didn't learn how to swim until I was around 12 or 13. It wasn't that I didn't *want* to, it was just no one ever taught me. Regardless I loved the water. I loved swimming while pregnant. For a short amount of time my back wasn't killing me, and I felt weightless. It was truly an amazing thing to be feeling the fresh pine air on my skin, breathing in the salty ocean mist, and feeling Ollie kicking away loving the sounds of the water swishing against his little home. Not to mention the invigerating 52 degree water...
Yes the water was 52 degrees, and that was the warmer of the two days. I should probably mention I was in Bar Harbor, Maine for 4th of July vacation with just my parents. They wanted one last vacation with just me, for ole times sake. I'm sure now they fantasize about how cute lil Ollie will look on sand beach with with pail and shovel. I can't wait. He'll have to prepare, I know I wasn't even close to prepared when I first dipped my feet into that water. Instantly numb. Then I got braver, ankles, calves, thighs. What was I thinking?! I didn't even have a full bathing suit on! I had swim shorts and a talk top on. It was incredibly cold, the temperature outside was barely 80 degrees and it was windy on top of that. But with that sun beating down on my bare skin, and my bun in the oven, I felt like s million degrees...
Ollie was kicking me every so offen. The water rose up just around my bust. I gazed out across the water, blue, green and white with foam. I could see my feet, even 4 feet down through the mint green tinted water. I didn't ever want to leave. I'd let myself bob and float there every other minute. Lifting my legs and wiggling the sand outta my toes. Seaweed wrapped around my arms and legs, but the view kept me from caring. The sounds kept me from being bothered that I couldn't feel anything below my waist. The smell of pine and sea salt rushing into my nostrils kept me from thinking about anything except me, Ollie and the sea. I daydreamed about being a mermaid and swimming out to one of the many rocks and sunbathing. I thought about the sunken ship parts scattered below "Old Soaker" on the ocean floor. I was having the best time. It was incredible. Being pregnant only made it better. If I couldn't have Dave there then th next person I'd want to experience that would be Ollie. He may not have gotten to see it,(yet) but he was there. And whenever I tell him this story, I'll get to say "you were there with me, in my belly".

Tuesday Snoozeday

I'm posting so late because I was busy "crafting" and eating earlier. It was worth it. The little man is FINALLY zonked out on my lap. He started taking a nap earlier but we were over Dave's parents house and his mom couldn't contain herself and accidently woke him up with her joy in seeing him. I was glad she got to see him awake before she went back to work but he refused to go back to sleep afterwards. He's been not as fussy lately during the day and at dinner and I attribute that to him getting a *very* small, runny amount of cereal everyday. He's officially 16 weeks, and will be 4 months on the 17th. It seems to be just what he needed. We'll see what my pedi says! Yikes!
Ollie has been doing really silly things lately. Eating his fist, "talking" and mimicking sounds, drooling and mouthing objects, trying to grab EVERYTHING, and squealing..loudly. He's also been more interested in books, rolling every chance he gets, and giggling at things I don't understand why are funny to him. Love him.







Tomorrow I'm gonna write a very special topic Thursday about something that meant a lot to me and I could never replace the feeling and moment. It was truly amazing. If you wanna know, read my post tomorrow! I'm excited to write about it!
Happy Wednesday/Thursday!

Weekend Recap

Last Friday we decided to go over to my parents house for the weekend. We don't get to see them that often, since they live close to an hour and a half away. They love having Ollie around and always make the biggest fuss over him, as they should with him being thier only grandchild.



Ollie's become a pro at rolling over now. Not so much stomach to back yet though. He loves playing on the floor and squealing like crazy. He makes the funniest sounds and trys to talk. He's so funny. I can't help laughing everytime he makes a silly noise and smiles all big and happy.



This weekend we went to Shady Maple smorgasbord and I literally ate so much food I almost vomited. I didn't know that was possible to eat that much. I felt fine till I got up to walk around. It was ridiculous...but thier food is AMAZING. Two words-turkey sausage. They have this turkey sausage that's stuffed with cheese, and I'd kill a man for it. So good. While we were there we stopped by thier grocery store they have and shopped a bit. Everything in there is so tempting. Luckily I felt like death so we left early with nothing more then some seltzer and rice cereal for Ollie to try. Speaking of that, Ollie had his first taste of rice cereal. I decided he was ready to at least *try* it. He was so eager and ate at least 4 small spoonfuls. Most of it was on his face and bib though. I don't think we'll be trying it again till I get the "ok" from his pedi.



Oliver loves my parents dog Molly and was squealing and "talking" in her direction while over there this weekend. I'm glad I have pictures like that one, Molly might not be around very much longer unfortunatley. All and all we had a great weekend over there besides me "dying" Saturday morning and Dave being sick on Sunday morning. I hope we can see them again sooner rather then later in the month. It's always a good time. Hope your Monday was good readers!

Thirsties & Bella Bottom Cloth Diaper giveaway winner!

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Sleeping

Since my boy was sick yesterday and was quite the fuss pot today I'm gonna make this Topic Thursday kinda short.

Since the second Oliver was born he has this magical baby power over me. He can somehow sneeze and I wake instantly. Even while I sleep his very movement is captured by sleepy eyes and soothed until he falls peacefully a sleep. He sleeps like an angel, and sometimes not at all. His sleep is effected by the smallest noise and dimest of lights. He can't be tricked or rocked to sleep. He is wise beyond his years...or months rather.
Getting Ollie to sleep nowadays is like an Olympic sport, and I should be a gold medalist. He wakes at 8-9am and by 11-12 he's ready for a nap. Try telling him that. I'll nurse him to sleep and would rather be trapped with him a sleep on my lap then risk the chance of him waking by moving him. Too many times have I almost sobbed when he's gone into his swing only to open his eyes seconds after being put down. He's a cuddly guy, and that's all he wants....day and night. Afternoon naps are almost impossible. They're like a lunar eclipse; seen few times and AMAZING. When he has growth spurts, like now, I feel like these things you call "naps" are some rare bird that lives far away, one I'll only see in a zoo or on tv.
Naps are a walk in the park compared to the main event of nighttime sleep. I use to be greatful for the fact he started sleeping through the nights at 3 weeks. Then I had to start co-sleeping with him and realized I'd rather go back to waking every 2 hours and being awake for an hour inbetween. It was easier then. Co-sleeping with him was killing my back and racking my brain. I'd wake and check to see if he was ok every, oh 5 minutes... It was exhausting...
Now Oliver sleeps in his co-sleeper. It's easier on my back and my brain. He sleeps better and I can still obessively watch him breathe while he sleeps. Maybe one day We'll get him to sleep in his bassinet, during the DAY and night. I'm pretty sure that day will go down in history as the "best day ever".

Animal Friends

I am REALLY excited about my new project I'm working on. I'm always looking for ways I can make money AND be able to stay home with Ollie. I'd love to be able to use my art and craft skills to earn some rent money for us. Not to mention, it keeps me sane doing art and crafts. It balances me out. Not to say I don't have A LOT on my plate with my almost 4 month old making waves, but I still wanna be "me" and have some sort of hobby. Even if that hobby only gets worked on during nap time and daddy playtime. It's nice to be able to say "I made that!". So I'll be opening an Etsy store soon filled with plush animals just like that guy! Stay tuned...