Last Day of 2008

It's New Year's Eve Day, December 31, 2008. Even though it doesn't make sense, I am sad to see the end of 2008. It was definitely the best year of my life! The year Hannah was born! I have been thinking about "2008" ever since I found out I was pregnant and realized I was having a baby in 2008. So basically since the beginning of August, 2007! So much for living in the present moment! I do always like New Year's, it's a neat time of year. 2008 will always hold a special place in my heart!

We're home!

We're home from our holiday travels. We left the afternoon of Christmas Eve for my mom's. We stayed there through Saturday morning. Saturday we drove (Grandpa Roy drove!) to Ventura to hang out with relatives there. We spent Sunday night back at Mom's, then home yesterday. Hannah still isn't much for traveling, but it was easier once I figured that out. After our two previous trips, she had a couple of rough days, and this time is no exception. It reminds me of when I have a particularly crazy or emotional trip, it takes me a few days to unwind, too! By Sunday she only wanted to hang out with me (more than usual! she usually only wants to hang out with me or on me!) and she woke up crying several times in the night. She rarely cries in the night. Right now she's napping peacefully and I need to unpack from our travels! Most of the time during our travels I was exhausted, but it was nice to see family. Christmas day she went a long time without napping, and I learned that day to make sure she gets a nap! Soon I will upload pictures of her unwrapping presents!

Business License

I just found out today that I my business license application was approved! So I can start selling socks any time! Right now I'm looking into web sites for my store. I like one that Marija from EC Wear uses (http://www.ecwear.com/) and I will probably go with them. The owner of the company is a WAHM and I like the idea of supporting another WAHM. I need to order some socks and start taking pictures of them! I would like to find a few more suppliers, I suppose that will take time and some more phone calls.

How exciting!!!!!

Henna!

Today I hennaed my hair for the third time. I discovered "body art quality" henna when Hannah was about 4 months old. Before that, I hadn't had my hair colored since the week before I got pregnant. I had looked into henna when I was pregnant, actually, but only came across products that included henna and a mix of lots of harmful chemicals. I made a query on MDC and was directed to the henna for hair website: http://www.hennaforhair.com/
What I learned there is that only henna sold as "body art quality" is pure henna and is completely safe and natural. I loved that I mixed it with orange juice! Then I mixed it with some tea the next day, and drank the tea that I didn't need! (You can't do that with the hair dye from a box!) I also love that I can use my regular kitchen utensils to stir it, and I can wash them in the sink and not worry about getting chemicals on my dishes. So from a non-hazardous perspective, it's great! I also love how it conditions my hair! Whatever I don't use, I just put in the freezer and take it out when I'm ready to do it again.

Putting it on is a completely yummy process, too. The first time I put on way too much, and it started to drip. I learn each time! I love the earthy smell of the henna. I love the way it feels. This time it was pretty cold when I put it on, but at least that way I could tell where I'd applied it. I can see why it is considered a luxury treatment. On the website, the woman who put it together says to relax while letting the henna work its magic on your hair. I don't think those directions were directed at moms of babies!

The first two times I hennaed my hair, I timed it around Hannah's naps. Currently, she only naps when she's on me, so that wasn't going to work this time. I started the process right after she woke up from one of her naps. I let her play with my camera and my cell phone and a bunch of other new things while I put it on. She was fine, and I put it on pretty quickly! We hung out for two hours and then I took a shower. Now my hair is drying, and I can tell I not longer have grey roots! Mmmmmm, I do love the smell!

I bought some indigo, which I haven't used yet. I would like to, one of these days. It's so easy for now to pull out the mix that I already made. Maybe next time I start a new mix I'll add the indigo.

I'm a definite henna convert!

Christmas giving

I bought two wooden puzzles today for Hannah for a Christmas present. As I was leaving the store, I was thinking about wrapping them and putting on a tag that says TO: Hannah FROM: Mommy. I got all teared up thinking about that! How lucky I am to have a child this Christmas! It makes me teary even now thinking about it! I just think to-Hannah-from-Mommy and I cry. I started thinking about Christmas gift giving. Sure, it's annoying sometimes to have to shop for people you don't know all that well, or for people who just buy what they want whenever they want it, and any other shopping that is out of a sense of obligation. I don't intend to even talk about out-of-control materialism and consumerism. But, today I thought this: at least once a year we take the opportunity to intentionally give someone a gift. All of a sudden Christmas gift-giving became a beautiful thing to me!

This year I got presents for the little ones in my family- my cousin Ian, my nephew Michael, my niece Bridget, my niece Cassandra's kids, Jennifer and Daniel, and also my parents. And of course my precious daughter Hannah! She's getting the two wooden puzzles and a handmade giraffe I bought from an etsy.com store. I am in the process of making some cards for my mom's favorite game, too. Her cards are all worn out and they don't make replacements anymore. It's taking me a little longer to stencil 0-99 on cards, but I am enjoying each and every one! It's nice to really feel a Christmas spirit!

Picture with Santa

 


Yes, we had our picture taken with Santa! The ones with Hannah and Santa came out the best, of course! As we stood in line, I was thinking about how Christmas is a special time, and I'm looking forward to this Christmas and many future Christmases with my baby girl!

ten fingers, ten toes

When I was pregnant and when Hannah was first born, I got a lot of cards that had pictures of baby feet or baby hands. They are pretty amazing! From the beginning, I noticed that Hannah has beautiful hands! Her feet are pretty neat, she moves them a lot and spreads out her toes. My mom says she has expressive feet.

The other night I had Hannah in the Moby wrap (for the first time in about four months, it felt nice) and her toes were at the perfect level for me to cup them in my fingers. All of a sudden I was completely mesmerized by the feel of those toes! They are amazing! They are exquisite! The next day I felt her fingers, too. All I can say is that they are incredible. Now I understand why people think baby toes and baby fingers are so cool.