NaBloPoMo

Uhhh what?

National Blog Posting Month, of course! The goal is for bloggers to post every day for an entire month. NaBloPoMo provides prompts to help bloggers along if they're stuck. (Want more details on this whole thing? Check out this "unofficial guide" and History of NaBloPoMo.)

Last year I did NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month and is in November. It  means you sit down and write a novel. In a month.  Yup, that's right, I wrote a novel in a month. Did I mention it's pretty short (bordering on novella status, really) and needs some editing and someone other than me to read it? But still. I wrote a novel!

So this year I've got a lot more going on with the house and work and Gia, and I just don't see myself writing another novel in a month. (Plus, I have big plans to go back to revise my first one before I write anything else.) But, I am up for the blogging challenge.

So, stay tuned. LOTS more coming in October! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you might even fall in love.  Seriously. You'll laugh AT me, cry because you laughed so hard, and fall in love with this blog. Even more than you already are :)

Blogs

I absolutely love reading other mommy blogs, which is a big reason why I started this one.  This is second only to the fact that I wanted to document this crazy time in my life--raising a toddler, buying a house, working, cooking & baking, photography, reading lots... you know--living my life.

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. The Art of Making a Baby (http://prebabyblog.com/)
Elena, a beautiful Russian model who now lives in FL, blogs about getting pregnant, being pregnant and what it's like to have a kid. She includes gorgeous pictures and has tons of information on being a "green" mom. She often does giveaways too, which is fab.  Check out this giveaway for a really cool family sun tent: http://prebabyblog.com/2012/09/baby-beach-essentials/

2. Mama & The Dudes (http://mamamandolin.blogspot.com/)
Mandey is a mom to adorable twin boys. She's quirky and fun, and I wish I knew her in real life. I love looking at pictures of her boys and I love how she's so real. She tells it like is, and she's honest about the struggles we go through when raising kids.

3. "EB"ing a Mommy ( http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/)
This one's a tear jerker like no other. Courtney's son Tripp was diagnosed with Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa -- EB for short -- which is a rare skin condition that causes severe blistering and bruising of the skin just from a simple touch or even from wearing clothing and having it rub against the skin.  Courtney takes you through Tripp's life (and eventual passing) with strength and humility. I swear you can feel her love for her son through the computer screen. Break out the tissues though, before you get started. (I started reading this shortly before Tripp passed and I'd literally SOB at Courtney's posts and then I'd run to Gia's room and just watch her sleep--the air going in and out of her perfect little healthy baby body--and I'd feel so blessed. And then I'd think of Courtney and Tripp and my heart would rip right open again. This is one amazing woman, and Tripp was surely an angel on Earth.)

These are just a few of many awesome ones I read. If anyone has any other mommy blogs they love to read--maybe something funny, perhaps--that they can share, I'd appreciate it!

Family photoshoot

This summer, during our annual Quinn Family trip to Wildwood, we had some family photos taken at the Hereford Lighthouse in Anglesea. What an awesome location! From boats to gardens to the beach, it was just perfect.

Check out her new "cheese" face

Gia had so much fun galloping around the beach, pointing to the seagulls and hamming it up for the camera.

Special thanks to Macy at Mea Creations who took these gorgeous pictures of our family.

What's in a name?

Not much, if you're a two year old.

On the way home from Petco, I aksed Gia what she wanted to name the bird and she said, "Birdie".  I explained to her that the bird needed a real name--an actual name that's not the type of animal he is. She knows plenty of people with pets and all their pets have names. Nana & Papa's cat's name is Boomer and Yadi & Joepa's dog's name is Lulu...etc etc. She didn't care. She was perfectly ok with Birdie.

After asking for suggestions on Facebook and getting some really good ones, we left the final decision to Gia. Sort of. We read her the list of names we liked. Her reply to every single name was "Nope."

Finally Jon and I picked 2 names and told her to pick one. And she did.

So, without further ado, here's

Charlie Birdie.

Yup, that's right. He's not just Charlie, he's Charlie Birdie.  We just couldn't get her to drop the 'birdie'.

Meet the 'Keet!

Meet our new parakeet!


We weren't in the market for a new bird (really, who is?). But, alas, here he is.

Funny story how we got this bird. We were shopping in a local outdoor shopping center and Gia sat in her stroller and behaved for nearly a half hour. (That's like forever in 2-year-old time.) She asked to go see the fishies, so I took her into Petco. We do this often and have never had any problems. We walk around, check out all the animals and then leave. Without any animals. You see where I'm going with this, right?

Well, after visiting the ferrets, mice, hamsters, fish, frogs, snakes, and birds, we were ready to go home. Well, I was anyway. Gia had other plans. She had her eye on a blue bird in a cage with twenty other green and yellow parakeets.  Just as I was about to steer the stroller away from the huge birdcage, she started her Oscar winning "get me a pet" performance.

"Mommy, I take blue birdie home," she said sweetly.
"No, Gia, we can't take the birdie home. He has to stay here with his friends."

I back the stroller out of the narrow aisle near the birds. Gia persists. She wants to take the birdie home. I push the stroller back toward the birds, hoping one more peek at them will do the trick. No such luck. She's whining now. Bottom lip is quivering. And then...she's crying and big fat tears are running down her adorable pink cheeks.

"Mommeeeee, I take blue birdie home to new houuuuuuuse! I play with birdie."

I kneel down in front of her stroller and explain to her that we can't take the bird home. Gia continues to alternate between whimpering and wailing that she wants to take the birdie home, until my heart is breaking for her and I agree to get the blue bird.

And the funny thing is, I wasn't getting the bird to shut her up. I was buying her the bird because she was breaking my heart. In the 5 minutes we were there, she fell in love with this blue bird.

I picked out a cage and Gia happily selected a toy for the bird and then I told her we needed to get him some bird food. "Bird SEED," said my good little bird owner.

Twenty minutes and approximately $68 later, we were en route to the "new house" with the blue bird. The entire way home Gia talked about her new birdie. "Mommy, I play with birdie. I play blocks with birdie." I was pretty sure the bird wouldn't want to play blocks with he, but I didn't want to burst her bubble.

Once at home we set up the cage, and put the bird in. Then we texted this picture to Daddy, who had NO idea we bought a bird.  He was flabbergasted, but was a good sport about it all. Anything for our girl ;)

Stay tuned for the big reveal--what did Gia name her bird!?

Welcome! Come on in...

Sit down. Have a look around. Check out my blog.

Ok ok, so there's not much to see yet. But I'm getting there, I promise.

See, I've been wanting to start a blog for a while. Years in fact. I just didn't think I was interesting enough to write one and have people read it or follow it or whatever the blogging lingo is. Turns out I was right :)

Buuut, now that I have the best/cutest/smartest/insertyourownsuperlativehere kid in the whole world, and I've got this crazy, busy, happy life that's pretty much all about her, I've got something to say and share with you.

So, check back often. We'll have recipe posts, pictures, updates, and lots of cool stuff, most of which is related to being a mommy. The QUINNtessential Mommy :)