E is for eyes:

Macro Monday:

AND AND AND…. I was SO excited to see that MY photo was one of Angie and Amy’s favorites for chalk over at I Heart Faces! I Heart Faces was really where my photography passion has bloomed. AND, I’ve met many of you bloggers out there through I Heart Faces. Here it is:

And, while I’m already bragging… ;D … I came in tenth place over at Trendy Treehouse for “Blue”!

My goal for next week is to beat Ashley Sisk. She came in second place. ;D Just kidding. I’ve got to be careful, my sarcasm will get me in trouble some day.

* Oh, and I have a winner for the Designer Blogs giveaway. I have some errands to run. I’ll let you all know soon!

{Ruari: 9.5 months}

Wow. I’ve been offline pretty much all weekend, and I’m AMAZED with the all the responses I received for my, “Sometimes it’s hard” post. Thank you. Thank you for all you’re support and sharing your stories! Seriously.

Starting my blog was the best thing I could have done to help my post par-tum. You guys are awesome!

I want to share and address all of your comments… because, like I said before: keeping it in can’t be healthy. I will do a couple here and there all week. 🙂 Here we go. On to the comments:

Jhen Stark wrote:
“Reading this post there were some hands in the air saying “amen sister!” It’s a beautiful thing being truthful! And boy is motherhood hard! I want me time, I want Jon and me time, and sometimes I’m looking at my situation and going… ‘things are just not the same”… and my heart really couldn’t function without her anymore, but I have my moments of throwing in the towel, grabbing the car keys and saying “you do it, I’m outta here for a while…” but I know that just moments later, I’ll start break down crying ’cause I’ll miss her! Ahh- MOTHERHOOD! <3″

Mandy wrote:
“Amen. It is definitely HARD. There are a lot of times I get frustrated and just need a few moments (or hours) to myself. Doesn’t mean I don’t love my baby boy any less. Because let’s face it, don’t we pretty much worship our children? — But it doesn’t make it easier to be a Mother. And you’re right, it’s okay to talk about it. In fact, it’s healthy.”

Melissa wrote:
“it’s hard for sure and so refreshing to hear your honesty. i am in the middle of some hard times with a two year old that shall not be named :/ i tell tim all the time how hard it is, i’m not sure he gets it but it feels good just to get it off my chest!

btw, i want to eat ruari’s head her clip looks so cute on her. and i love how you put it on that band…perfect!”

Carol @ Knee Deep wrote:
“Nail meet head. Motherhood sucks the energy and life force right out of you and your relationships, but it’s also the best and most rewarding experience in the world. I think this feeling is the most profound when you have your 1st baby, after that you’ve become accustomed to the exhaustion and the sacrifices and you don’t notice the change quite so much. I’d like to say it gets easier, but it doesn’t, you just get used to it.

**love these photos, especially the ones toward the end…they are darker and richer. I like it”

Hayley
“Thank you for posting this. I have had some similar posts on my blogs. It IS hard, and it ain’t always pretty and rainbows and laughs and joy. I go days without getting out of my jammies. I am happy when we can get ready to go out of the house and take less than an hour to get ready to go.”

Jennifer wrote:
“Sometimes it’s so nice just to know that you are not alone. Motherhood is harder than anything i have ever done but of course i wouldn’t trade being home with them for the world, sometimes a nice break is priceless though!”

Joni  wrote:
“i am so glad i am not the only one who feels this way. it is the hardest thing i have ever done because i feel like if i don’t do it just right then it could greatly affect there lives down the road. i hardly ever wear makeup any more, i don’t always take a shower just so i can use that time for my kids to have a bath every day. i don’t get manicures or pedicures, and i usually shop for clothes for myself with my kohl’s cash that i have collect from purchasing clothes for my kids. i want a break sometimes too. a few days would be divine. i am sure that anything i did would take 1/2 the time because i won’t have the disruption of chaos around me. we all have no doubt that you are a wonderful mother (miserable kids don’t smile like ruari smiles for you in all those pictures you take). we all love our kids and would die without them but if we don’t take care of ourselves, how will we ever be able to be 100% for our kids? hope you have a wonderful weekend. and…if i lived closer, i would watch her for you in a heartbeat! :)”

casey  wrote:
“Hey Chelsey I’ve wanted to tell you that when I read your posts and read about Ruari’s personality it reminds me a lot of Daisy. I do think that some babies have more challenging temperaments than others. Don’t get me wrong. Being a mom is hard for everyone but, after my friend visited me from Oregon and brought her angel baby over (she is 11 months), she nearly never cried, can lay in her crib for hours and entertain herself…seriously what the heck???, and she smiles and laughs all day long…naps like a queen and sleeps 13 hours a night!!! That being said, I began to realize that I have a tougher baby than some and I think you do to. Ours cry a lot, need more attention than others and have short attention spans so they wear us even more ragged than others. I encourage myself by saying that since my first is such a touch cookie than my second is going to be a breeze!! I think you will have the same experience:)!! hehe. Yes, I barely get a shower..barely get a second to myself during the day because Daisy only takes 30 minute naps…I sigh with relief when 8 rolls around and I can put her to sleep and have some me time. LOVE her to death but, yes…she wears me ragged. WAy to be real!!”

Me: Wow, our girls do sound a lot alike. I can remember back going in public with Ruari when she was under 5 months… all my friends would be sitting hanging out with their babies… while I’m bouncing Ruari non-stop because she was never happy unless she was being bounced/rocked/moved. The beginning was VERY hard for me. Dealing with almost dying from my birth, and a “high-need” baby. I can truly say that I’ve been jealous of many of my friends calm and relaxed/chill babies. BUT, I love my crazy little girl. 🙂

Nichole wrote:
“thank you. thank you Chelsey and thank you other mommies. I love my son more than I ever imagined I could ever love anything but boy to I agree. thanks for making me feel like I am not alone. It’s nice to know it does not make me a bad mom to want those same things. I almost cried reading your post and everyone’s comments, just a relief you know??!! Rauri is beautiful and you are doing an amazing job! thank you.”

Tara wrote: “What a perfect post! I had this discussion with my husband two nights ago. How we never spend time together and its either work or kids. I have 4 munchkins and I love every minute of being their mom. But I agree, in order to be the good mom they deserve we have to take time for ourselves. It may sound selfish to some, but really we are just being honest. We need to remember who we were before we had kids and keep that alive. Even if its only 1 day a week. Keith has been out of town a lot working and he is home today. I am supposed to volunteer in Kindergarten today but stepped back and said NO, not today. I have him all to myself today, I need to take advantage and spend it with him. He leaves again next week for 3 days. So I let the teacher know and they smiled and said, we understand. Go Go Go! So I am excited and I was glad to see your post. Thanks for sharing your story too! It’s nice to know I am not the only one feeling this way!!!

And I was going to point out that adorable Pancake hair piece too! Thanks for sharing where you got it. It is just adorable and one of my kids favorite Sunday treats. I will have to go check out her shop!!! Oh and thanks for the photo challenges. I need to remember to link up each week. Its fun hosting a photo challenge, but I love entering yours too! 😉

Hope you have a fabulous weekend! Tara @ Trendy Treehouse”

Chelsea wrote:
“Took those words right out of my mouth! 🙂 AMEN! This is something I have been dealing with BIG TIME within the last month or so…..thank you for this post…thank you :)”

Kel wrote:
“Oh preach it sister! I have those days. I def feel like people judge me when I say “I need a break” or when I close myself in the bathroom when husband gets home and pretend I am USING the bathroom, when really I am just sitting on the floor…..taking some time. 🙂 hahahaha (don’t tell hubs my secret hideaway) hahahaha. that’s sad…the bathroom as a hideaway. Anyway, I know how you feel. I try and let the good moments shadow the challenging ones. THen I can look back and say “well, he was SOOO cute at breakfast…just remember how cute he can really be”. haahahaha. oh, the trials!!! this is why hubs and I will be leaving the kids next summer and going to Europe!!! or New Zealand. We NEED it!!!! YAHOO!!!!! thanks for sharing!”

hisskinnedknees wrote:
Beautifully said!

Me: Thanks!

Sara wrote:
“Oh it can be so hard. I can’t tell you how much I would love even an hour, completely alone to read or nap or paint my toe nails…anything….but completely alone. It’s only happened once or twice since Pie was born, but I keep hoping it’ll happen again.

How is it possible that even mad and crying Rauri is gorgeous”

Well, that was just a very small amount of the amazing comments I received! I will be getting to the others tomorrow! THANK YOU everyone!

My pick on Monday: My mom and I were torturing Ruari at the store yesterday… we kept putting hats on her and she kept tearing them off! AND: I leaned my head against her face and she pushed it away! Hey! I made you! ;D

Anyway, I ALWAYS love the hats from the Cite Fuzz Etsy shop. I will not give up on you hats! Ruari will wear you and like it! I love this hat:

{Cite Fuzz}

{Cite Fuzz}

Have a lovely Monday everyone!

This will be a quick giveaway! It’s almost Halloween! I’m ending this giveaway on the 5th to make sure the winner gets their prize sooner than later. 😀

Pear Tree, once again, has been SO extremely generous to offer one of my readers some personalized Halloween stickers! Here are my fave’s:

Ok, how cute are they? And, there’s a ton more to choose from. You can see the whole variety here. If you need some Halloween cards, click here. AND, some Halloween invitations here.

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AND: I just wanted to let you guys all in on a little treat from Pear Tree… Christmas is coming. Yes, it is. And, it will sneak up on you!

So, if you head over to Pear Tree… check out their Christmas Cards… Christmas Party Invitations… or even Photo Christmas Cards… Spend $49: you get free address labels! You can click here for more details.

I love sending Christmas cards, but I hate writing my address over and over again. Sigh. But, these address labels are pretty cute, and can match your Christmas cards you buy!

Pear Tree Greetings sent me a sampling of their Christmas cards for me to review. I am telling you: the quality is wonderful! I’ve ordered Christmas cards from MANY different online printers. These look the best to me!

Look how simple and beautiful your Christmas cards can be, show off your photo skills:

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On to the giveaway details:

How do you win? Please follow these steps… AND make sure I have a way to contact you through e-mail. If I don’t… I’ll have to delete the entry… 🙁

Mandatory entry:
1) Tell me if you send out Halloween cards. I like to send out a few each year!{1 entry}

Optional entries:
1) Follow me (see sidebar) {1 entry}
2) Like my Facebook page for The Paper Mama{1 entry}
3) Blog about this giveaway… linking back to my blog (please post blog post link in comment). {3 entries}
4) Grab one of my buttons in the sidebar there… {2 entries}
5) You can vote for me… ONLY if you really want to. 🙂 Click here: {1 entry}


Giveaway ends October 6th 11:59 PM Pacific Time. 🙂

So, someone let me know that I TOTALLY forgot to announce last months vote off winner! That was the Saturday I only got about 3 hours of sleep… Hee. That might be why! Anywho… Here’s the winner!

• Flower: A Pile of Pics! CONGRATS!

Congrats! What a lovely photo! Thank you so much for playing! You had 52% of the votes. Followed by Knee Deep in Mommahood, And, then she snapped, and Simplicity! Thanks so much for playing!

<a href=”https://thepapermama.blogspot.com”><img src=”http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4846272577_81fafed77c_b.jpg” alt=”The Paper Mama” width=”150″ height=”150″ /></a>

I have a small prize for you if you’d like! Send me your address: [email protected]

AND, if anyone would like to donate a prize for a vote off or challenge, please drop me a line! I would LOVE to show your shop some love.

This weeks guest judge:  Me! (Ok, not really a guest, but I thought I’d judge the photo challenge this week!)  

This weeks challenge: Confusion!.?!
The challenge: The challenge will be based around your children. Take or find a photo of your baby (or kid… or puppy… or kitty) confused, unsure…. just plain flabbergasted!

My example of Confusion:

Here are a couple links to some free photo editing software if you don’t already have something:
Picasa
Gimp
Pixlr

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There always has to be rules… I know, boring right? But, it’s to help me and you. 🙂 Click on the link for more details… Each entry does need to link back to my blog… Click here to see last weeks winner… All photo entries need to be in by 11:59 PM Pacific Time on October 7th…
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Winners so far:

• Fingerprint: … Captivus Living …
• A hint of color: … Love3 …
• Confusion: … no one yet …
• Me and Mama: … no one yet …

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If you have an Etsy shop and would like to give away an item as a prize… please drop me a line! I ♥ sponsors and will show your shop some love for your contribution. 🙂
♥♥♥♥♥♥

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