What Momma Really Wants for Christmas.

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My "I Want" Christmas list is probably a mile long.  It includes unnecessary things such as but not limited to: Christian Dior So Real Sunglasses, the Louis Vuitton Pallas bag, and Valentino pumps (Actually, I think I do really need these).  My "I need" list, well, pretty much goes something like this, new underwear (Yes, you've read that right).  Seriously, I haven't gone underwear shopping in what feels like years.  Momma needs some underpants, ya'll.  However, if Santa were to really grant my momma wishes this is what he'd place underneath the Christmas tree (well, not literally, if you know what I mean).

1.> A full-time house cleaner.  I may be wrong (which I rarely am) but this is probably every.single.mothers.dream.  Can you even imagine the wonderful life it would be?  Santa, can you read this?  Do you accept Christmas emails?

2.> A personal chef; specifically one that cooks breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week.  Okay, okay six days a week.  The thought of this makes my heart go pitter-patter.  Home-made Belgian waffles on a Tuesday morning?  Coming right up!

3.> One year's worth of full-body massages.  Enough said.

4.> One year's worth of manicures and pedicures.  There is just something about a freshly made manicure and pedicure that does wonders to my psyche.  Having the perfect nails all year round, well, hot damn.

5.> A personal stylist, a personal hairstylist, and a personal make-up artist. On-call, twenty four hours a day.  Kidding, I sleep for at least seven of those hours.

6.> And last but certainly not least, a lifetime supply of wine.  Red, white, whatever.  Just wrap it and put a bow on it.

My favorite Christmas song as a child was "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"; If you see me Santa, you know what's up.

xx

I'll never be #instafamous.

Hand me a box of tissues!  Truth: I have spent the last .0893475 seconds enjoying a good cry.  Apparently, I have been misusing Instagram all this time.  ALL THOSE YEARS.  ALL THOSE PHOTOS.  ALL THAT INSTANT GOODNESS.  Ya'll if you didn't know, Instagram is NOT for snapshots.  Oh-no-it-is-not.  Apparently, Instagram is the place where you a.) Share super staged photos taken with your DSLR, b.) Share super staged photos taken by professional photographers, or c.) Share super staged photos under only the most perfect of natural light, duh.  Can't do any one of those?  Well, then you my friend, have zero chance of becoming #instafamous.  I KNOW, turn on the waterworks.

I can't speak for all instagram users of the world, however, I am almost certain that this popular social media outlet was created to be used with your phone.  Um, I don't know about you, but when I hear "instagram" the word instant comes to mind.  Taking your DSLR out, arranging people and things just right, well, that doesn't sound "instant" to me.  Does it to you?  Am I guilty of posting photos taken with my DSLR?  Yes, yes I am.  Do I do it on an everyday basis?  No, no I don't.  I'm probably just hating on the person that has the time, and the patience to do this.  Staging photographs with a little toddler that demands your attention, well, that shit just isn't going to happen.

Are you a professional photographer?  Do you have friend that is a professional photographer?  Are you financially capable of having a photographer take hundreds of photographs of you, your family, your house & all the knick-knacks you've got lying around?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, well, I don't like you and we can't be friends.  Just kidding.  However, you must be capable of answering yes to at least ONE of these questions if you want to be the bees knees of the instaworld.  Not kidding.  

Feeling bitter?  Don't ya worry, if you have the opportunity to spend the majority of the daylight hours in the comfort of your home, you still have a chance.  Seize the natural lighting!  Me?  Well, I can kiss that "#instalife goodbye.  I am a full-time working momma; and I am pretty certain that the head of my department would not approve of the whole, "bring your DSLR & Tripod" to work thing.  Unless fluorescent lighting is your jam, I ain't your #instamodel.  Yellow tinge is my name, crappy instafeed is my game. Holla!

Follow me @leaveittoren if you're in the mood for a B-List instafeed, where crappy lighting and bathroom selfies are always in style ;)

xo

Ren

Oh, wait...

Hello, October...

Oh, wait, it isn't October.  Basically this has been my life for the last three weeks.  Wait, what day is it?  Are you SURE it isn't October?  I've been living in a whirlwind of crazy being fueled by copious amounts of coffee, hashtag mommafuel.   Why I thought I would keep up with blogging while  moving/working/wifing/mothering/friending is beyond me (you knew it wasn't going to happen, didn't you?) .  I had so many things to ramble about.  However, every night when the day was over and the house was quiet I was passed out before the laptop even turned on.  True story.

There have been so many changes in the last three weeks.  Yet, we have been so busy that I haven't had a chance to sit and reflect (I fall asleep before my head even hits the pillow).  We moved, we celebrated my future sister-in-law's bridal shower, we had a first birthday party to attend, and we get to shower one of our favorite people and her future baby next Saturday.  We've dealt with melt-downs, tantrums, and teething (will the teething EVER end?).  I've cried, and laughed, and chopped off all my hair (I did!); and I stayed up till three in the morning this past Saturday (insert wide-eyed emoji here).  September, you have kept me on my toes, I have the dark circles to prove it.  Now, all I need is a day in pajamas; scratch that, a week in pajamas.

We are mostly settled in and normalcy is slowly creeping in (at a snail's pace).  And even though Fall is nonexistent in South Florida, I find myself giddy at the thought of temperatures below 100 degrees fahrenheit.

The kitchen is clean, the babe is in bed (she's been asleep since before eight), and it is only ten o'clock.  I've eaten about a dozen cookie butter cups and don't even feel bad about it.  It is officially the last day of summer and I can say without a doubt that this summer was one for the books.  Now let me get my tush in bed (I think I may get more than seven hours and I am ECSTATIC, #momlife).

peace out.

Ren

You Know You're a Momma When...

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You Know You're a Momma When...

Welcome to the second installment of "You Know You're a Momma When..."   Should you feel inclined, you may read the first installment here.  Think about a day where you were really exhausted, now multiply that by a bajillion and three, plus two.  That is motherhood.  

This mom thing, well, it ain't for the faint-of-heart.  But when I think about the days before jumping on the crazy train, I feel a massive void.  This little girl has filled my life with so much happiness, so much joy, so much love (and so much crazy) that I could not fathom life without her. It has also provided for quite the entertainment.  When I start to think that things cannot get any wonkier, they do.

Without further ado, you know you're a momma when...

(1)  You can carry on a serious conversation about poop, boogers, and vomit without batting an eye.  In the course of a year I have been exposed to more bodily fluids than my almost 30 years of life on Earth.  Pooped on?  Yes.  Peed on?  Yes.  Puked on?  Yes.  I've also picked my daughter's boogers while eating spaghetti (No shame).  Needless to say, n-o-t-h-i-n-g grosses you out.  

(2)  You have bruises up and down your legs from bumping into furniture in the middle of the night.  For some reason I think I can navigate in pitch-dark with my eyes closed.  For the record, I can't.  I've got the bruise(s) to prove it.  Still, I do this every morning around 5 AM when Liv wakes up to nurse.  I-just-don't-learn.

(3)  Your idea of a wild Friday night is pizza, wine, clean pajamas, and sleeping past midnight.  Actually, who the 'eff am I kidding I can't make it past ten.  And, honestly, I'm not complaining.  (I also wrote about this before, but #mombrain)

(4)  What you really want for your birthday is to sleep past 8 AM in a blacked out room, with the air conditioner set at 74 degrees fahrenheit, and someone to bring you waffles and coffee around the clock at the snap of your finger (or the ring of a bell, or a scream,whatever works).  

(5)  Your toddler looks like she could have jumped out of a Baby Gap catalog when you haven't brushed your hair in three days because #priorities. 

(6) You sit down and think, "Finally, relaxation!" only to remember that you haven't emptied out your daughter's lunchbox, and you've already turned on the dishwasher, and you're too tired to hand wash them.  Oh-em-gee.

You know you're a momma when you are a permanent passenger of the 'Hot Mess Express' and all you've got to say about it is, "Choo! Choo!"

Come back next week for the next installment of "You Know You're a Momma When..." and if you have your own crazy story, please share!

xx

Happy Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday, first day of September, and the day where I hopefully get this blog back on track (That was a mouthful!).

So, let's catch up on the last few months, shall we?  If I were to fill you in on all the nitty-gritty details, we'd be here for a few hours (With the way I explain things, maybe a few days).  You don't want that, I don't have the time for that, so the the short version it is. And, here-we-go...

In June we smothered our favorite guy with lots of love. We flew to St. Thomas to celebrate his 30th birthday. It was our first big family trip and the first time our munchkin was on a plane (More on that later). We had way too much fun, but we were definitely ready to come home towards the end. 

In July we celebrated a certain little munchkin's first birthday.   Yes, you read that right, FIRST BIRTHDAY!  How we went from infant to toddler in the blink of an eye is absolutely beyond me.  It was a small, quaint, lovely celebration.  We surrounded our little girl with wonderful friends and showered her with love.  I'll share some photos later.

We also made it (Successfully, in my humble opinion) through our first year of parenting. It was both the hardest and the most wonderful 365 days of my life. I am not the mother I expected to be and that is perfectly fine. There are days where I struggle but I just keep on going. I love being a mother, it humbles me and inspires me. Becoming a mother has made me stronger, better, and more grateful than ever.

We sold our house and bought a new house.  Yes, in the midst of planning a first birthday we bought a house.  Even though there is a part of me that tears up at the thought of leaving our old home, our new home is perfect for us.  I hope that the new owners of our old house love it as much as we do.  It will forever hold a special place in my heart.  It was the first house we lived in as a married couple and the home we welcomed our daughter.  Liv's first room and many of her firsts were all celebrated in the old house.  Yet, I know that the new house is going to bring us more happiness, more laughter, and more joy.  We are so excited for this new adventure (Except for moving, I am dreading the moving).

There has been of course, many, many other occurrences. But, for the sake of your attention, we will finish it here. This weekend is the big move.  Labor Day weekend four years ago was when we moved into our first house. It's funny how it worked out this way. I sense that it means lots of good things. 

See you tomorrow? Yes and yes!

xx

The Girl in the Red Shoes: The Breastfeeding Diaries.

Hey, I know, I know, where have I been? Worry not, things will soon be cranking up. But, if you missed me, head on over to Julie's blog The Girl in The Red Shoes. I'm guest posting all about my experience with breastfeeding Liv.  

I hope that maybe, just maybe, I may be the glimmer of hope to some momma in need. Our journey's are unique and our own; however, knowing that I wasn't alone in my struggles made all the difference. 

xx and see you soon!

This Beautiful Life.

Life with my people keeps getting better and better.  Whenever I pause and think of all that has changed in the last year I can't help but get a little choked up. So many wonderful memories have been made and so many more are awaiting us.   This is a beautiful life we have, indeed.

Wonderful weekends make it hard to get in the groove of things come Monday.  On Sunday night I begin to doubt my decision of being a working momma.  A part of me will always want to be home with my munchkin.  Yet, even as I type that I know that I have made the right decision. I love my daughter and because of this love I know that I must do everything in my power to provide her with the best possible start.  For us that means two working parents, c'est la vie.

So, on Mondays like today, where all my heart can think of is holding my sweet little love I pause.  I pause and reflect on how very blessed I am. My days may not be spent at home but they are spent making a difference.  Fortunately, it is easier for me knowing that I work for an amazing organization that blesses the lives of many all across the globe.  Together we work to better the lives of those individuals whose lives are not as fortunate. One day my daughter will learn of this, one day she will understand; because on Mondays like today where dropping her off felt like I was ripping a part a piece of my heart, it's what I hold on to.

So, here we are, just five days away from the two most desired days of the week. If you are feeling just a little down, don't. Our children will know of our sacrifices and know that everything was always done in their best interest.  I know this because my mother and father worked. They worked hard for their family and there is not a day that goes by that I am not grateful for that. 

Happy Monday!

xo

Renata