But – I’m afraid I have a PinterestFAIL to share with you today.  (wah-wah)

After being re-pinned over forty times within forty minutes of tagging this photo, I decided it certainly seemed like a perfect Pinterest Craft to do IRL (in real life) with Gracie.

Quick overview: take a toilet paper roll, bend it into a heart shape, tape into place, dip into finger paint and go to town!

Our effort: take a toilet paper roll, spend about fifteen minutes trying to get a good heart shape, get excited that it’s ready, dip into finger paint, discover heart is actually lopsided and is making funny “C” shapes instead of hearts.

Regroup: Cut roll down to even out, try again.

Result: the only shape it’s making is a sort of fortune cookie…. and the little girl is much more interested in finger painting on her highchair instead of using our homemade “stamp” anyways. (Good thing we have the Graco Blossom with wipe-clean tray and fabric for easy clean! )

In the end? We gave up and went a different direction.. adorable, if I do say so myself! (Then again, this Mama is admittedly biased.)

What do you think: is it crazy I keep trying to “craft” with an 18-month old??  Does anyone else have some fun projects that are somewhat successful at this early age?

And by the way…. did you know that Graco is on Pinterest?  We’ve been curating some of our favorite ideas for baby nurseries, crafting ideas for kids, adorable baby photos and more.  Be sure to follow us – and let us know what you’d like to see on our boards.

What’s your work schedule?

On a ‘regular’ week I work in a corporate office, Monday through Friday.

How do you handle child care?

Our kids go to the same daycare.  My hubby, bless him, drops the kids off nearly every day and I pick them up.  I prefer pick up because then I can ask lots of probing questions about the kids’ activities and their behavior.  I also still have a moment, every now and then when I actually do morning drop off, when I really want to cry.  The staff at our school is lovely, and I trust them.  But sometimes I am overcome with jealousy that I’m giving a full day in the life of my precious little nuggets to another person.  A person that I don’t know on a personal level, don’t spend time with outside the walls of the school.  You see, our family all lives out of town and we don’t feel we can afford a nanny.  On the flip side, I love to see my kids interacting and playing with others their ages.  It’s so cool to see them growing in that way and developing friendships!

Where do you work during the day?

The majority of the time I work in a corporate office.  I also work offsite (and evening hours) at other places around the city when I’m doing research studies.

What’s your favorite part of your work?

I love the variety in my work!  I’m always trying to get answers to a new question, feedback on a new product.  It keeps my work fresh and interesting.

What do you like best about your current set-up?

Our office allows for flextime, which I REALLY appreciate.  In fact, I can’t imagine a world where you have to arrive at 8AM on the dot day after day after day.  Flexing my hours, even by just 30 minutes a day, gives me a little breathing room in my chaotic life.  I can come in to the office early and beat rush hour, or I can stay at home a few minutes longer to have a surprise breakfast of waffles (instead of our regularly scheduled cereal & fruit) with the kids.  It lets me take a moment and appreciate that the kids are actually fun and cute when they are goofing off and running around in circles, instead of putting on their jackets like I asked them to.

What do you find difficult/tricky/comical about your current set-up?  What would you change if you had a magic wand?

We are blessed that we don’t have any major medical issues to contend with, only run of the mill colds and whatnot.  BUT, if I could wave a magic wand I would do away with any of us getting sick again.  It really throws a wrench into our lives when any of us are sick.  And then I’d eliminate traffic.  I wish the nice man from Star Trek could just beam me into the office each day so that it would always take the same amount of time, aka none.

I think it’s comical that sometimes I forget there is more than one way to get things done.  Forgot to defrost the chicken for dinner?  It’s ok – through the miracle of the supermarket rotisserie chicken, it doesn’t matter!  I wish I would remember it’s ok to improvise!

What’s your favorite part of your home life?

I can tell you my favorite time of day – the kids’ bath time.  Ever since our first child, bath time has become our little family ritual.  We all squeeze into the smallest bathroom in the whole house, together.  Even our dog comes joins us.  No matter what kind of day it’s been, they turn into smiley little sea monkeys the second they sit down in the water.  Our 1-year old starts laughing and trying to take his clothes off the second he hears water running (hopefully not a practice that follows him into adulthood, but for now it’s the cutest thing EVER)  Splash all you want, it’s tile floor, it’s just water.  For a little while clock time doesn’t matter.  Daddy & Mommy sit on the floor and the kids do their thing in the tub.  We all just play.

How does your partner contribute to managing the house/childcare?

My hubby is an amazing partner.  As I mentioned, he is master of the morning routine.  He is so patient and calm with the kids.  I’m trying to learn to be more like him.

Do you have time to yourself? What do you do with that time?

Um, not really.  One of my hobbies is cooking, so when I get to cook what I consider a “real meal” it doubles as me time and mom duty.  I try to go for a long run by myself on the weekends.  To be honest, I don’t always want that much time completely by myself.  Don’t get me wrong, there are days when I really want a break, and there are plenty of things that are easier to do without the kids in tow, but just a few moments of peace here and there sustains me these days.  A quick trip to Starbucks, a little while to read is all I want.  It’s just the  phase I’m in right now and I’m happy with it.

What advice would you give to other moms or first-time expectants about how to balance work and life?

Be kind and patient with yourself.  Sometimes you’ll have things under control and sometimes you won’t.  And get a crock pot, it’s a life saver!!

—

Val, Thank you so much for your honest answers.  It’s not easy to tell the world how you make it through the day!  Thank you!!

I pushed the sleep from my eyes, downed a cup of coffee and set-out to spend “quality” time with the little ones that I never get to see.

I was surprised at how quickly being 5 years old came back to me. Soon we were making up all sorts of games, and rules and safe zones. Then we had the brilliant idea of creating a barrier wall and a “safe cave”. It was full-on Star Wars chaos, all before 6:00am and breakfast.

Boys will be Boys

Do your kids already know all the  names of their favorite characters? Do they talk about it constantly? Share your stories.

Do you have a picture of your precious little one that you’d like featured in our ‘Babies, Bundles, and Bumps’ series?

Share it with us at blog@gracobaby.com, and you might see it featured here!

How do they do it?!

I honestly can barely get myself out of bed and ready in the morning.  So, over the next few weeks I’ll be featuring a different lovely lady that I have the pleasure to work beside.

First up!  Mrs. Desiree Wright.  Des is a textile CAD designer for Graco, but at heart, she is a full-blown creative junkie.  She is truly an amazing artist.  Not to mention she is a mom to 5 kids and has one of the most infectious laughs I have ever heard.  This is how she handles it all…

What’s your work schedule?

8:30 am-5:30 pm

How do you handle child care?

Either my husband or I drop off the two littlest ones (ages 21 months and 4 years) in the morning and my husband picks the girls up in the evening.  I chose a daycare that is right down the street, since I have to get my other children on the school bus.

Where do you work during the day? 

I work in an office.

What’s your favorite part of your work? 

Being creative…I am lucky enough to have a job that I desire to go to!  I made a passionate choice when I was a little girl that I would only work at a job if I love it and love what I do.  That was the number one factor that brought me here today and when I chose to have children…I would never leave my children to go to a job that didn’t put a smile on my face.

What do you like best about your current set-up?

I chose to move to Georgia for the family and work flexibility both in my career and my daycare.  In the past…I had absolutely no flexible schedule either way.  I managed to juggle daycare and work, but it was much more stressful.

What do you find difficult/tricky/comical about your current set-up?  What would you change if you had a magic wand? 

If I had a magic wand, I would turn my Toyota into an Invisible Jet like Wonder Woman and fly over all the traffic I get stuck in (both to and from work) and once that was complete, I would make one bus stop and one school stop instead of four, and I would appreciate if my son would stop getting detention in the morning before my day even begins.  Keep in mind…I have a high school-er, a middle school-er, an elementary child, a pre-K child and a baby….getting them all off to school/day care then jumping into the traffic to getting to work is definitely not the easiest part of the day.

What’s your favorite part of your home life?

Everything…I enjoy the chaos of my home life…from the noise in the morning till night.  I enjoy the sit down dinners of hearing about all their wonderful school days and what they did during the day since I am at work.  I enjoy the dancing, smiling, and I guess…just the “NON-QUIET” life I lead.  I appreciate just how lucky I am, even when all four of my girls get into a scream fest.

How does your partner contribute to managing the house/childcare? 

My partner is my husband David and he is the most laid-back, quiet person you have ever met.  He contributes 100% and I contribute 100%…there is no 50-50 with five kids, athletics and a full time job.  We all need to do teamwork.  Usually I do all the cooking and cleaning, but now my husband is learning to cook, so he helps, and we are cleaning  together since I have a larger house in Georgia than I did in the past.

Do you have time to yourself? What do you do with that time? 

Since I am an artist I always try to find time for myself to create…whether it be scrapbooking, magazine browsing or painting..the only down side is…I do not find time for myself until everything else is done, which means I am giving myself time at 11:00pm and later.  Also, I joined a tennis team to give myself a “set” time for myself to have.  I also try to go out on a late date with my husband once a month to give “us” some time together.  Those who know me well…tell me that I need more time for myself…and guess what..I will when my baby moves out..then I will get my toes done!

What advice would you give to other moms or first-time expectant parents about how to balance work and life? 

My advice is “You bring that wonderful bundle of joy into your life…not the other way around!”  When I travel, my babies travel, when my schedule changes they change along with me.  I guess, because of my busy life and even when I was a new mom of just one… I always went with the flow of Motherhood.  I have brought my kids everywhere and done everything with them and - guess what? They are fine!  I do believe in consistency…so even if you are busy..try and keep the same bedtime, bedtime stories…etc…and most of all communication.  My other advice is…don’t feel bad about working, the most important thing is making every free minute you do have with your kids count!

……..

Wow!  What a great first interview!  I am already excited to hear more and see how everyone does things differently.  Thank you, Des, for being so open and willing to share with everyone.

Let him cry and the tears will run down both of your faces.

Getting baby to sleep through the night is no easy task. You should know that our baby is pretty close to being perfect in the sense that he is very easy to take care of…. Except for sleeping through the night.

Poor little guy still gets up to eat, every morning around 3am. We feed him, bathe him, tuck him in, still every night we have broken sleep. Four days ago we started to do as the doctor recommended, we let him cry. Supposedly, babies will cry and then fall asleep. Over the course of a few days their little bodies get used to waiting to eat and they sleep through the night.

Well, after doing this for 4 nights in a row and sleeping only a hand full of hours, we are the ones who are crying. While this method may work for some, it isn’t for us. Not only did this method strike out, we are now more tired than we were before.

Parental instinct is telling me that he’s not ready yet… and neither are we.

If anyone out there has any ideas on how to get our baby to sleep sound through the night, we’re all tears (pun intended).
-DM

Baby lost another tooth. This is still a pretty new event in our house, so Baby dancing around singing about her tooth can be considered pretty normal. She sings and dances about most things these days. But what came next, I wasn’t expecting.

Baby: “What’s the Tooth Fairy’s name?”
Me: “Ummmm…yeah…I’m not really sure. Why do you want to know?”
Baby: “Well, Poppy sent me a note from her that one time. Remember?”

Apparently my daughter has a memory like an elephant.

Straining what little Mommy Brain cells were working that evening, I struggled to recall what she was talking about. Then I vaguely remembered my dad sending her a note in the mail when she lost her first tooth. The Tooth Fairy delivered it to their house in Florida, so Poppy mailed it to her.

Super cute, right?
Except now, I no longer had the note.
It was stashed away somewhere, and I had absolutely NO IDEA what the Tooth Fairy’s name was on the note.

Then a thought popped into my head. I suggested Baby write the Tooth Fairy a nice note asking her name, since she couldn’t remember the original name either. Maybe she would leave a note in return like Elfie, our Elf on the Shelf, did over Christmas.

This idea thrilled Baby to no end. It made me pretty happy too, since I was now off the hook for finding the old note (in the next 8 hours).

Baby awoke the next morning to find $1.00 and a short note from the Tooth Fairy in her special tooth box. When she read the note aloud to all of us, and when she finished, her little nose crinkled and she squinted her eyes. I could tell she was thinking really hard. Darn it! She was really trying to remember if the names matched!

Finally, she read the name on the note aloud again and then exclaimed, “Mommy, it’s not the same as before! The other fairy was named, Toothie!”

Seriously?
Who is this kid?
She’s definitely too smart for me.

I then thoughtfully explained, how there are many Tooth Fairy helpers in the world, just like there are many Santa helpers in the malls at Christmas time. One fairy can certainly not visit all the children in the world when they lose teeth. This seemed to satisfy my daughter.

Whew!
Another childhood crisis averted, and amazingly enough, look what I found the following weekend cleaning up the desk area in the kitchen — yup, the note from Poppy.

What question has your child asked recently that sent you reeling for a quick and believable answer?

Gracie’s mom, Kate, and x-man’s mom, Deanna, love getting these two tykes together for playdates at their favorite park.

Do you have a picture of your precious little one that you’d like featured in our ‘Babies, Bundles, and Bumps’ series?

Share it with us at blog@gracobaby.com, and you might see it featured here!

“My family was been a Graco family long before I joined the Graco family.  Case in point – when my daughter was little her favorite activity was jumping in her Graco Jump ‘n Jive.  It provided all of us with hours of entertainment.  One day she was going especially crazy, so we filmed it and set it to music.  It was hard to hold the camera because my wife and I were laughing so hard.  The video is in real-time…we didn’t speed it up!”

We hope you have a fantastic holiday with your family and here’s to an even better 2012!

Is there something you’d like to see here on the Graco blog in the New Year? Please leave a comment and let us know!

Was there anything that you wanted to accomplish before starting family?