Wordless Wednesday

Rest, Rain and Reminiscing

Lately all I can do is compare everything - my life, my bank account, my closet, my backseat, my (significantly less round) belly - to what it looked like a year ago. I feel Mac's first birthday around the corner and am floored, absolutely flummoxed, by what twelve short months can do.

A year ago this week I was on bed rest. I went from the sofa to the bed and back, entertaining visitors with a delightful case of "bed rest hair" that can be recreated only by showering, then immediately lying on one's sopping head of hair for hours on end. It's a look that will be on the cover of Elle the moment heroin chic comes back in style, mark my words.

I was under doctor's orders to "rest," but felt anything but relaxed. Everything in me was counting down to baby time, thanking God that we were full term already and watching the clock as days eased by on their own sweet time. I felt antsy and ready and full of questions. (Mostly: "When?!?")

A year later, I'm lying in bed with the windows open. The weather has finally caught on that September should mean chilly evenings, not triple-digit temperatures. A near-monsoon is setting the perfect backdrop for what I'm hoping will be a delicious night's sleep.

I can't stop thinking about how restful this all is, how blessed we are to have a baby who has slept through the night for ages, how nice it is to shower at will, walk around freely and not have to check my blood pressure every few hours. Just before Mac was born, I slept eleven straight hours to the sound of a September storm like this one. I thought often of that unbelievable night's sleep in the thick of our newborn days, when two-hour stretches were all I got.

I'm sorry to seem so nostalgic tonight, but what's kept me away from blogging is the constant reflection I've been doing as Mac's babyhood wraps up. I hope I'm not the only mom who has ever felt this odd bittersweetness at the close of a wonderful, incomparable, life-changing beyond belief year. (B asked if I'd feel this way at every birthday; waxing sentimental over every last milestone must be a foreign concept to the menfolk.)

I'm going to stop reminiscing about the twelve months that upended my universe in the best possible way. I'm going to focus on how thankful I am for a for a good night's sleep, sans doctor's orders. (If our house washes away in this downpour, I may be singing a different tune... Send help if you haven't heard from us by Homecoming.)

A Few (Belated) Facts About Football

Last week I read a WSJ piece describing South Carolina as a "state of disappointment" when it comes to the passion versus production ratio of our football teams. We rival Texas, Florida and Michigan for filling stadiums and selling tickets, but our ability to win national, and even conference, championships doesn't live up to that level of commitment.

I winced through the article, but the writer has a point. I was more than ready for our Tigers to prove a point last weekend in a much-anticipated meeting with Auburn. Cue SEC/ACC smacktalk.

Saturday night's game very nearly gave me an ulcer. What a rollercoaster ride! I got up at one point during the game to change my clothes and actually wondered if I should refrain. Would it change the team's momentum? Is it bad luck? Should I keep on my orange?

Fact 1: I don't believe in luck, jinxes or superstition.

Fact 2: I have absolutely no bearing on the outcome of any football game, much less one taking place in another state.

Fact 3: Kyle Parker and Dabo Swinney have no idea who I am.

It crossed my mind, but I swapped tops nonetheless.

Mac slept through the injury-filled game, and with every rush of a gurney onto the field I thought of the players' moms. Having a baby really does change the way you look at everything - even college football!

Fact 4: Mac will never play college football. I made that executive decision as the third player was carted off the field.

Sunday morning I broke the news to our boy that his Tigers didn't win.

So the first half was incredible but we didn't pull out a W?

Our long snapper did what?

All in all, I'm very proud of the showing our Tigers made on Saturday. We could (and should) have won, but if nothing else I'm glad we exceeded everyone's expectations.

Coming from an Auburn athletics' perspective, I was intrigued by this analysis.

Fact 5: Jinx or no jinx, next time we're all wearing orange - even our sleeping son. Just in case!

Eleven Months Old: Still Our Baby

On Sunday the 5th, our Mac turned 11 months old. I waited to blog about it until I captured the "perfect" shot of him sitting still, but that never happened. This is what you get, folks - welcome to our life!

(If you're interested in the side of Mac's head or his little rump in the air as he crawls away from the camera, I could post those images for days.)

This might also be a subliminal tactic to slow down the last month of Mac's babyhood. I love that it's fall and am glad to share a new season with our little guy, but a year ago things were quite different. In three weeks I won't be able to say, "This time last year I was pregnant!" I'll miss that.

In his eleventh month, Mac finally cut his first tooth. It's taking its sweet time, but he has one pearly little nub on the bottom row. The other bottom tooth may be next, so I'm praying the process hurries up; it hasn't been the most comfortable of months for our little guy. (Or my fingers, when he nabs one to gnaw!)


Otherwise, the last month has been so much fun! Mac is more curious and interactive than ever, getting smarter and cuter every day. He dances and laughs and crawls all over the place. He can find a way to get into anything, especially if you're trying to keep him away. He sings and claps and smiles. He points and gestures and babbles and grumbles and squeals and chats. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, folks.

He's discovered how fun it is to open and close doors - then reopen, reclose and reopen them, waving "bye bye" all the while. We could kill thirty minutes this way. He still loves bath time (but has graduated from his baby whale tub - sniffle!) and is entranced by books - upside down, right side up, doesn't matter.


He picks up on so much! If I say "pattycake," "kick," "bounce," or "kiss," even to someone else, he's likely to do it. He'll point to the fan or the dog whenever he hears those words, grinning with pride as he does it. I wonder why he doesn't seem to pick up on "no" when he hears it. Hmm...

Mac is a little sponge soaking up everything he sees and hears, imitating noises, gestures, facial expressions and even our inflection as we talk to him. He speaks his own McLanguage that B and I don't understand yet, but his enthusiasm needs no translation. I love his running narration of each day.

This boy's appetite is still voracious - he eats a full pound of food in addition to milk at all three meals. That's four jars (16 oz.) of baby or table food, plus rice cereal mixed in. Three times a day. It disappears in 7 minutes or less; he's a machine!

He loves the outdoors - walking, rocking on the front porch, peeking through windows, pulling back curtains, giggling at birds. He takes after his daddy that way, and I'm thankful the fall weather will allow us more time outside.

Can we go out there?

As Macky grows, I cherish the compliments we hear about his sweet personality after playdates and as we pick him up from the church or gym nursery. It's mind-boggling that he has interactions and experiences without us, but wonderful to know he is loving even when we're away.

I love Mac's burgeoning sense of humor: he hands me his teddy bear blanky when he's not interested in my request for a kiss. ("Kiss him, Mom.") After I lay one on his unsuspecting lovie, he collapses into giggles and "kisses" the bear himself. I rarely seem to get a smooch out of the deal, but I'm glad he enjoys it.

I am moved by the sparkle in his eye at new activities, the way he smiles and waves at everyone, his determination to get whatever he's after - especially when he shouldn't have it.

I love everything about this boy - from his crazy bedhead down to his chubby monkey toes. Even the tough, gross, trying and tiring moments of motherhood have enriched my life beyond words. I am deeply, tremendously and daily thankful to be his mom.

We couldn't be more grateful for our healthy, handsome boy. He's a blessing to us every day - and I tell him so.

In October my Mac will turn one. We'll put away our "first year" guidebooks and enter a new chapter. Officially he'll be a toddler, but he'll always be my baby.

A year ago I dreamed of what our son would look like, and even now I can't believe my eyes. What an unspeakable, beautiful gift God has given us in him. And I'm crying as I type this, so I'll stop here...

Oh how we love you, Mac Mac - happy 11 months!

Wordless Wednesday: Our Tiny Tiger

Ebates (Enabler) Update

For those of us who aren't Victoria Beckham or Anna Wintour, New York Fashion Week doesn't involve front-row seats or glamorous after parties.

We lowly fashion-lovers who aren't celebrating NYFW with a whirlwind week in Manhattan do have something to celebrate, though.

Ebates is offering double cash back at a few great retailers this week - in addition, there are some fantastic sales and free shipping offers to sweeten the deal.

• Banana Republic – 15% Cash Back (plus 25% off & free shipping today)
• Gap - 15% Cash Back
• Lands’ End – 6% Cash Back
• Macy‘s – 5% Cash Back
• Nordstrom - 6% Cash Back
• Piperlime - 15% Cash Back
• Victoria’s Secret – 4% Cash Back (plus 20% off boots)
  

Find all of the Fashion Week Deals here. (Be sure to view the available coupon codes for each store, too!)

If you aren't an Ebates member, you can sign up here to receive $5 extra with your first purchase.

If you're going to shop, you might as well shop smart! Any other deals I should know about? Again, not that I'm shopping...just window shopping with codes in hand. And being an enabler to my shop-happy friends!

Trying to Get My Netflix Fix

B and I have loved our Netflix subscription since day one. Typically we're able to get the movies and TV shows we want within days of their release on DVD.

I wrongly presumed the same would be true when Friday Night Lights' fourth season came out a few weeks ago. The discs have been at the top of my queue for a month, sometimes even listed as immediately available, but Netflix has not yet sent them to us.

My solution? Stack the cards in my favor by outsmarting the site's queue algorithms. (Who am I kidding? For all I know they pick a film out of a hat and send it to you.)

Earlier this year I cleared out our queue and left only one title on it: a newly released, super popular movie I really wanted to see. Netflix took pity on my slim pickings and sent me the DVD immediately.

This time around, Netflix seems to have gotten wise to my game. Our queue has looked like this for over a week:

The site warns me daily to add more titles to my queue. I just know that, the moment I have other discs sent to us, FNL will become (very briefly) available and I'll miss my chance. Dramatic? Yes - but also possible.

Netflix is so heartless. First it got me hooked on Friday Night Lights with three seasons of instantly available episodes and now, knowing I'm thoroughly addicted, it refuses to give me another moment of Texas football goodness.

So now I'm cutting off my nose to spite my face: shunning each of the thousands of discs they have in stock on the off chance they'll send me just what I want. I realize how bratty this makes me sound, rest assured.

Netflix, if you send me just one measly little DVD, evidently your only copy, I promise not to fly through it in a Tim Riggins-induced haze. Help me out now and I'll never try to rig your secret system again.

All I need is a little drawlin', brawlin' Dillon-style entertainment. Cross your fingers that my tactic works soon!

(Meanwhile, B still asks me daily what we have on Netflix - then proceeds to roll his eyes at me when I launch into a diatribe about principles and "holding out for what I really want." I think what he really wants is a movie, any movie, for his dollar.)