Category: Life

Save me from myself

Stuff for Miss LeybaI can’t stop buying things for my daughter. Granted, it’s all things we need (like pants, socks, and a hat that fits), but I certainly spend more on her than on anyone else in the house (David and my wardrobe is quickly becoming threadbare). In fact, it’s a long standing family joke that I never spend money on myself and have 28 years worth of birthday and Hanukkah presents in the bank (I do, actually). But tempt me with something super cute, well-made, practical, and a good deal for my daughter and I just go crazy. A non-shopper suddenly becomes a shopper.

Take our new stroller. Several friends highly recommended Maclaren strollers (quality! style! durable! lightweight!), but I thought they were outside of our budget (I mean, who spends over $200 on a stroller?!). Then I found a great deal on a model from last year with free shipping and no tax and, well, I just couldn’t help myself.

Rather that reprimand myself for a few modest purchases (lol), I guess I should instead focus on how proud I am of myself for the restraint I’ve exercised by not buying every single item on our gift wish list and every children’s board book at our local bookstore… and trust me, I’ve been tempted!

We read every children’s book in the house every single day. Usually twice. Yep, we Spritzer Leyba’s love our books. Thank you to everyone who has given us so many fantastic books! (For her complete library, see the list in our sidebar further down this page.) We are so enjoying them!

Special thanks to Alexis for buying us the board book version of Harry the Dirty Dog. Miss Leyba gets SO animated and smiley when I break it out. I think that’s her favorite book right now. It brings such joy to my eyes seeing her so excited about books!

Here we are reading another favorite, The Very Hungry Caterpillar:
Reading together
(Thank you to Stephanie and Andy for this Eric Carle classic!)

A Reprieve for Mama


Suddenly Miss Leyba cannot get enough of watching, grasping for, talking to, and batting at her toys! Hallelujah, I am off duty! She can play by herself!

While she is occupied for upwards of twenty minutes focusing on the same red toy (and continually moving — that white blur is her socks), I get to do things like unload the dishwasher! Cook lunch! Go pee! Run a load of laundry! Drink a glass of water! It’s thrilling over here. Ordinary things like housework suddenly become a treat. You should see how excited I get when David holds her so I can shower.

It’s when she’s sleeping that I really get down time and I usually spend that time reading/relaxing! Or ordering Miss Leyba more clothes and updating her gift wish list because she is in the process of outgrowing yet another size… It’s no wonder that I am so behind in email correspondence, writing thank you notes, returning phone calls and just about every thing else.

Yep, she’s still in the clingy, don’t ever put me down even when I’m sleeping (unless you show me toys that are more fun than you) stage! Thankfully I think it’s just darling that she’s so attached. I love you too, sweetie. I wouldn’t want to sleep without you next to me either.

Daily snippets

Could yesterday’s prenatal appointment be my last?! Probably just wishful thinking on our part… My body really is ready to go into labor. Of course, I could tell you all the details, but then I would be walking the fine line of TMI (“too much information”). Let’s just say, it’s time.

In the meantime, I am digging:

+ Chocolate protein shakes (I know, I’m consuming sugar… but also getting 18g of protein!)

+ Fresh air! Moving around! Being off bedrest!

+ Our gorgeous new camera. We both are so into taking photos and movies with it.

+ Picnics in bed while watching season 2 of Heroes on our laptop. As with most television shows, I have issues with dialog and plot points, and just wish I could rewrite a few of the episodes, but overall we loved the second season and are now even more pumped for season 3.

+ A carload of baby clothing and gear from our friend Jenn! All lovingly worn and super cute, with some darling organic outfits thrown in. Completely lovely and such a huge relief! It feels so good to no longer be freaked out about how much clothing we were going to have to buy over the next year. Thank you, Jenn and Brian!

+ Interacting with the baby: David talks to my belly, the baby moves just a little bit; David stops talking, the baby revs up into overdrive and moves nonstop, then pauses while we talk to him/her some more… *repeat* over and over again. I swear, it never gets old or ceases to amaze us.

A temporary return to routine


For the first time since November, David and I returned to our Saturday morning routine of outdoor activities and errands. We made a quick trip to Whole Foods for beverages and cash, then grabbed breakfast at the Farmer’s Market before we went for a walk in the park, and finally headed to our beloved Sebastopol for a homemade treat from Screamin’ Mimi’s and a trip to the herb store for some postpartum tea ingredients. In the afternoon we organized and cleaned around the house. Now we’re having computer time.

While David’s been working from home for over a month now, I feel like this was one of the first days in a while where we’ve spent the whole day not just in close proximity to each other, but completely with each other — doing activities side by side, talking nonstop, being truly together. We both had such a good time and I think we really needed it. I feel recharged, relaxed, refreshed, and happy. And who knows when we’ll have another opportunity to spend the day just the two of us?! Of course, I feel giddy about the fact that soon we’ll be incorporating the baby into our weekend, family-together-time routines.

Photo taken by David with a Canon PowerShot SD870IS