Rainbows and Dragonflies

Three years ago, I first discussed my new mom body image issues. Here I am now 30 pounds lighter and I’m still back and forth with the same internal dialogue. In my head I had an idea of how my body would look at this weight. To not have that fairy tale image realized upsets me from time to time. Even though I was heavier before I got pregnant, I feel like my body was more proportionate. Now I have stretched out skin in my stomach and still have a lumpy area on my right side where Li’l T spent most of his time. Big T has been a sweetheart about all of it. He compliments me a lot and mentions the weight I’ve lost. I can admit that it’s all in my head and I’m very critical of myself. Some days are better than others, though. Especially, if I wear THAT outfit that hides my stomach and shows my other curves. I’m sure that I will always have some things that I don’t like about my body but I’m working on focusing on what I do like. It’s a slow process but I’m trying.

Since, Li’l T was born we’ve put off trips thinking that he’d be too young to enjoy them. It seemed to be a good idea at the time but I’ve started to rethink it. A lot of our friends and family aren’t in this area and we miss out on seeing them. At the end of April we drove to Ohio to visit Bhan and family from BhanVoyage. It was a 7 1/2-8 hour drive through the mountains of Western Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. We discovered that Li’l T is a great road buddy. He sings, talks and just hangs out in the back seat. The drive went really quickly and I now know what the PA Turnpike is. I’m highly considering getting an EZPass in anticipation of more travel. We made about 3 stops total for food, gas and potty breaks.

When we arrived he was immediately enamored with Bhan’s cat and dog (Scrooge and Macy). And even decided that he was going to rest in Macy’s kennel. :-\ It was a fun but short trip. We encountered a little traffic on the way back but Li’l T took it in stride. We only had one mishap when Li’l T got extremely hungry and all of the rest stations were closed. We had to hop off the Turnpike and find a fast food restaurant. A batch of fries in his tummy and he was all good.

Now that we know how he does on long car rides I’m ready, to make some more trips. I wonder where should be we go next?

What we learned from traveling with a little one:

• Pack LOTS of snacks. You never know when the little belly will need to be filled when there are no restaurants in sight.
• Don’t be in a rush. Unexpected things happen. Traffic jams, explosive diapers, etc. Just know that going in and add a buffer of extra time.
• Wear loose comfortable clothing. You’re going to be in the car for a while. Don’t wear anything constricting that will make you uncomfortable during the drive.
• Take time to rest. Build in time to visit rest stops even if all you do is stretch. Getting out of the car for a few moments can save everyone’s sanity.
• Pack activities. Give the little one something to do in the backseat. A game, a book, anything to keep the mind occupied.

I’m behind on posting photos so here’s a large photo dump of the  kookiness from the past few months.

Mrs. Nicholes over at Houseful of Nicholes is doing a link up today for photos of the weirdest places your child has slept. Normally, Li’l T won’t sleep anywhere but his bed or in the car. It just so happens that this past Saturday he was so tired that he fell asleep on the living room floor. He slept off and on for hours while rolling on to different areas of the floor. We did think about putting him in his crib but feared that he wouldn’t go to sleep then.

Lately, the weather has been cluing us in to the fact that Summer is coming to an end. Tomorrow, is the first day of my favorite season, Fall. I’ve been very busy at work so the summer kind of dragged by without much acknowledgement from me. We did get to hang out some so I wanted to do a farewell ode to summer.

In July, Li’l T attended a birthday pool party. He loves water so he was gung ho even though the water was a little cool. He wasn’t very happy about getting out so we could go inside to eat. LOL

Later on that month we took Li’l T and my nephew to a baseball game. Mets vs Nationals. Great fun even though Li’l T got restless before the end.

In August, we went to the Baltimore Aquarium. I was very impressed by the building and features. Not so much but the high ticket prices. :-\

It’s the week that I’ve been dreading/looking forward to. Li’l T is down south with my family. This past Saturday we met my sisters and nephew in NC to do the pick up. I wanted us to sit down for a bit so he could get used to them again. I was concerned that he might panic but my worries were unfounded. It didn’t take long for him to warm up to everyone at my uncle’s house. He met my aunt, uncle and my cousin’s kids and had a ball. When we were about to leave we noticed that my car had a split tire. We got a new one while Li’l T headed to SC. He’s stayed with my younger sister and today my father had one on one time with him. I miss him but I’m not as sad as I thought I’d be. He’s having a great time and making lots of friends. Big T and I have gone out to celebrate our anniversary and his birthday. It was a great feeling to be out and not have to run home. I had forgotten what that was like. Li’l T will be back Saturday and my nephew will be staying with us for a week. I will enjoy this time while he’s away but I will be happy when he’s back.