Fashionista In Utero

Finding out that we are having a girl was such an amazingly happy moment for me and Brad...but I'm pretty sure that 2 seconds later, Brad's mind wandered and he could envision shopping bags and shopping sprees. (I mean, more than there are usually.) He didn't know how good he had it when there was only one girl in the household to worry about...

I assumed that the second we got the green light on pink stuff, I would be hightailing it to insert-retail-establishment-here to start stocking up on all things pink and frilly. Boy, was I wrong.

The first disappointing experience was at the outlet mall in North Myrtle Beach. I figured that a shopping trip with my sisters would lead to a squeal-fest of cuteness and bags full of stuff. Alas, for some reason, I wasn't feeling it. I took one look a frilly bathing suit with a tutu that looked too small for a Barbie doll and--gasp--was not overwhelmed by feelings of "Eeeeee!" What was wrong with me?! I love to shop. I love pink. I have a reason now to buy cutesy pink things. WHY AM I NOT LINING UP AT THE REGISTER WITH PILES OF CLOTHES ON MY ARM?!? I left with a couple half-hearted purchases. Sigh.

Enter Retail Meltdown #2. I decided to take advantage of the tax-free weekend and head over to Macy's last weekend. Standing among racks of cute little baby clothes, I could feel the familiar rush of "step away from the stuff" and again was confused. I tried to rethink my approach to focus my feelings of being overwhelmed: "She can totally wear this on the plane over Christmas" and "She will grow into this dress and it's a great deal" were thoughts (albeit crazy ones) that crossed my mind and lead me to finding a few things.

As I was leaving the store, I called Ali for a little moral support. In the midst of her "It's OK" peptalk, I wandered into BabyGap. And something clicked...and kicked--literally, I could feel her moving around in there as if to say "This. This is where we need to be." Could my unborn baby know that BabyGap was where I worked for 5 years in high school and college? Could she possibly already have the same taste that I do?? Oh, the joy of the idea of my first mommy-daughter bonding moment.

Then...I saw the outfit that would do me/us in...

Minus the denim jacket and plus an ADORABLE pair of hot pink bow shoes. (Yes, a newborn needs a cute pair of shoes...don't even get me started on the miniature pink Uggs that I'm eyeing.) I held my head a little higher and my heart was a little lighter this trip to the register. See? I thought to myself. You can do this!

I think that it's just different this time around. With Ben, we didn't know if we would be going with blue or pink, so we just went with neither--I didn't have to do any pre-shopping for clothes, so this is all new to me. It's strange to buy clothes and pick out things for someone who's not even here yet...but I'm dealing with it.

So, I think I'm over whatever funk I was in.

Sorry, Brad. ;-)

Live and Learn

When you're a parent, packing for any kind of vacation/trip can seem like a daunting task. No matter how many lists I put together, how far in advance I start laying things out, how many run-throughs I do on the day we're leaving, I'd bet money that we will get 2 blocks away and realize that I've left something behind. It makes me wonder...I'm pretty sure Brad questions my sanity. Having said that, there are a few redeeming moments in parenthood. Times where a sliver of insight turns out to be the best thing possible.

Case in point: We headed out to Sanibel Island this past weekend, a place we've been to many times. We love it there--calm, quiet, peaceful...and seashells as far as the eye can see. For just a quick weekend trip, we threw some clothes in the suitcase and some sunscreen in the beach bag. For whatever reason, I thought to grab Ben's inner tube--the one he uses for swimming in the pool. I stood in the living room, holding the inner tube, knowing full well that we would not be near a swimming pool at all during the trip...but something--call it maternal instinct, a mother's intuition--told me to pack it anyway.

Fast forward 12 hours and we're in coastal paradise, unloading our chairs/umbrella/buckets...and the inner tube. Brad and Ben set off to build a sand castle and I assumed my normal Sanibel-position...hunched over, looking for shells. (Uh, sidenote--this is NOT an easy task when you're in your third trimester. Just sayin'.) About 30 minutes later, the boys were hot and wanted to hop into the water to cool off. So, I asked Ben if he wanted to try and wear his tube. I gave him 5 minutes, tops, with keeping that thing on. Not that it's uncomfortable, but we weren't in a pool--it was the ocean. Again...fast forward about an hour and a half...

...the kid was in heaven. He swam, came back on shore, turned around and went right back out. In total, he (and Brad) probably spent a good 2-1/2 hours in the ocean that afternoon. (I, of course, assumed another position on the shore...wildlife watchdog--I was convinced that if I didn't keep an eye out, the 2 loves of my life would be eaten by a shark...but that's another blog post entirely.)

Anyway, I still don't know what made me grab that inner tube before leaving our house and hitting the road...but my point is this: I am that much wiser for the next trip.

Every once in a while, amidst the frazzled craziness of being a road-tripping parent, you have a shining moment where you feel like the most brilliant--borderline psychic, even--genius on the planet...a moment where you think to yourself, "hey--I'm not such an idiot after all."

And then you realize that you left your flat iron on and you have to turn around anyway.