Real Life: A bit about Noah

Hey everyone! Sorry I've been MIA. Being a mom & dealing with things like finding a nanny, working, marriage, & clients it can get pretty busy. Since being a mother has taken a lot of the space on my plate, I may as well write about it. Where do I begin? I thought I'd write about Noah & what I am discovering being his mom. Noah is now 13 months old, a toddler!  He is a very curious & active boy...As a mom it's nice to discover our children's personalities. Here are a few things about him I wanted to share:

He smiles 80% of the time
He is very friendly, even with strangers.
If you aren't looking at him, he will call out to you.
He loves bananas & watermelon.
He is very social.
He is courageous.
When we are in his music class he floats around the room smiling at everyone.
He loves to knock down a tower of blocks.
Loves to go outside in his stroller.
He doesn't mind when I put on his shoes.
He's not a messy eater.
He enjoys helping with laundry & folding it. (Well he doesn't know how to fold quite yet but he  is entertained by trying).

He likes music & art.
He's never really used a pacifier.
He likes feeling a loose blanket underneath him before he sleeps.
He falls asleep pretty quickly.
He doesn't mind if people are talking, when he's tired he will clonk out.
He's pretty well-behaved when we take him to public places.
He seems to adapt pretty well to new situations.
He is not a big giggler.
He laughs when I tickle his neck.
He doesn't mind being scared.
He doesn't like vacuums that much.
He's a good eater.
He cooperates well when I am cutting his nails.
He enjoys going out in his baby carrier.
He's on a schedule.
He falls asleep around 7:20pm every evening. 

I have to say I am looking forward to the next phase, where I get to hear him speak & try to put words together! Have a great weekend!

-images by jen ramos

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REAL LIFE: "Our Day" Together

Hey guys! Hope you're having a good end-of-week so far!  My day is busy & dealing with some in-law family issues, but mostly all is well.  I posted this on my instagram, but also wanted to share it on my blog. Scroll down to read... 

One day a week, I am home alone for 10-11 hours straight with my son. It's one day a week because I still work & run my business (from home).. the other 4 days. Every week on "our day" together...I wonder if I can make it through the entire day without collapsing. Maybe because I'm an older mom & don't have as much energy or maybe because my mind wants to do MadeByGirl work or maybe just because being a MOM is hard stuff! 10-11 hours straight devoted completely to someone else... when it used to be "just me", is definitely something new Moms have to get used to. I'm still getting used to it. There isn't much freedom on the day I spend with him because my time is his. I like freedom, but it is a sacrifice I've made to raise this beautiful boy.

I'm not going to sugar-coat it and tell you BS......It's exhausting being a mom! On the day we spend together (all day).... I wish I could just sit down uninterrupted for 20 minutes straight ....doing nothing. But I can't. I don't know how other moms who have more than 1 child do it... Props to you, really. I am TRULY grateful that I have a (p/t) nanny 4 days a week..(while I work), because at my age (42), it's def challenging. But, I'm ready. Exhausted, but ready for the challenge. Today on our day together I took him out in his stroller... Getting an 11 month old ready to go out into the cold, is a job in itself. Moms, you know what I mean. He doesn't like to put on his coat... So... a little bit of crying & resistance happens. Once his coat is on & he knows we are headed out, I know I have like 4 minutes to hurry & put all my layers on before he starts getting agitated again!!

As I sit here... Going thru all these "mom-moments" I can't help but love him & still be grateful for him. Being a mom is hard. So, YES....I appreciate Moms with more than one child & nannies MORE THAN EVER now.......you are all HEROES.


 -post & photo by jen ramos

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Made By Girl News

Hello everyone, Happy New Year! WOAH it is super cold today in NYC! -  Like 14 degrees. Good reason to stay in & write this important post.

I've been in the process of selling a few things in my home & making way for some BIG changes. A baby-space/office (if you can believe that).   Our son is growing quickly & needs a little more space to move around.... so, I've decided to sell a few things including my white leather daybed. (pictured below).  In the process of all this... we are also working on a new blog design + new site design....and I've been painting a bunch of new ART to add!

Now for the BIGGEST news....after 10 years in business as Made By Girl, a portion of my business will be partially closed down.  What I mean by that is - the prints/poster section of my company will no longer be available.  So basically, 98% of the ART on Made By Girl from that point on, will be original paintings.  I've thought about this change long & hard & contemplated on many things. To be honest, it feels like the RIGHT CHOICE for me at this time.  Perhaps this is the beginning of something more meaningful?? I don't know.  But what I do know, is that new beginnings make room for others things to grow.

THANK YOU for all your support throughout these years with my art-prints portion of my business.  I can't even begin to tell you how HAPPY it made me & how much I learned from it.  Unfortunately, the ART PRINTS business has become terribly saturated & EVERYONE is now a designer of prints/posters CREATING prints with every quote in the book!  Sadly, the uniqueness has died.

So, on I go to the NEXT THING.....to innovate & create new work. And in the meanwhile, my Original paintings come with me.  That +  a bit more is what I will be showing you with the new site (for the most part).  Stay tuned, as we will have a HUGE sale soon .....on... ART PRINTS.

-image & post by jen ramos

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REAL LIFE: Iced COFFEE, dirty looks & spit up.

I used to love sitting quietly at Starbucks sipping on a soy cafe mocha & reading a book. Watching the people shuffling in & out with their coffee cups, listening to the annoyingly long names for coffee and everything else that happens in a big-city Starbucks.  Yesterday, I walked into Starbucks with my son Noah, who is now 7 months old.  We were alone and he was in his stroller. We stopped because I was hungry & figured it would be a quick way to get a breakfast sandwich & iced coffee. 

Ordered & then sat down while Noah sipped on some pedialyte next to me.  He is now holding his own bottle at 7 months, not perfectly coordinated.... but pretty darn good!  He started at 6 months, so I let him try when he wants to.  Anyway, all of a sudden his 3 ounces were finished & I was still eating my sandwich.  He needed to BURP, so I got him onto my lap.  My meal was now on hold...NORMAL occurrence when I'm with baby.  As I'm burping him, he spits up onto his pant legs, then all of a sudden throws up the pedialyte & it lands on the bench we're sitting!

My thought was "ugh, where is the napkin I had?" I scrambled to find a napkin, and noticed one under my sandwich!  Ummm, I realized I couldn't reach MY DIAPER BAG within the tight quarters we were in to get a washcloth, so I had to make due with one napkin!  The girl a seat away from me SAW EVERYTHING.  She even had 5 napkins or so on the bench next to her.  She looked at Noah & gave me a "not-so-nice look" then turned away.

Of course, for 2 seconds I wanted to tell her how "crappy" that was!   I mean, would it have killed her to offer one or two napkins?  BUT,  I kept my cool.  After that, I also had to change his pants in the middle of all the commotion around us......THANKFULLY, I managed to reach my bag and take out his emergency outfit.  So, there you have it.  That is what my Starbucks experience looks like as a mother.

It used to be me, my book & my cappuccino - now, it's me trying to juggle several things in my hands.  Every day that passes and I fall more & more into my role as a mom... & I realize why mothers are so tired by the end of the day.  Zzzzzz.

Oh, Starbucks.  I kinda miss our quiet time.

-post by jen ramos
-please excuse my punctuation, I am obviously not an English major.

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Real Life: Dark Circles & Exhaustion

Being a mom is great. But being a mom also means putting myself second.

I've always known that placing myself second would be pretty challenging since I love taking care of myself.  There's nothing wrong with doing things for me, but nowadays I rarely do. YES, I miss it. 

Ever since Noah came into our lives - we've been learning many things about him & ourselves.  For one, I was never a patient person. With baby, I find myself practicing patience even when I DON'T want to!  

The most challenging days are the ones where I just don't know why he's crying.  He isn't much of a crier to begin with,  unless he's tired or hungry. Go figure.  Other than that, he's pretty relaxed. When he's not hungry or tired & he cries, I get the most anxious.  I find myself trying "everything" I've learned to get him to stop, and the few times it doesn't ....I feel LOST.  I'm sure I'm NOT the only MOM to feel this way.... so, this is why I'm writing this today.  Real life has an interesting way of surprising us & making us face our our biggest fears.  Every single day I realize I'm facing new challenges & new fears while raising our son, and I can't stress enough... the importance of patience.  I'll be honest, I'm still trying to master the patience 'mode' myself.  

As I write this, another thought is running through my mind..... BUSINESS + BABY.  Believe it or not, I am still trying to manage my business while raising our son.  Yes, I have some p/t help with a nanny & family members, but I find myself letting go of one thing or the other.  Don't get me wrong, I love what I do,  but I also know that Noah will need more of my time at some point.  In my heart, I've always wanted to be a mom...but not an 'absent- mom' where work becomes more important than my family.  So many thoughts keep coming to mind about just quitting my work & focusing more on him for a few years.  Although he drains most of my energy, I love being around him & his BIG smile. He is such a blessing.

I'll be blunt, the thought of being a stay-at-home mom SCARES the heck out of me.  Why? Well, I always imagined it would be boring & lack the amount of creative outlet I'm used to.  I honestly would love to know if any moms out there quit their jobs to tend to their kids at home?  Would that be a life that would drive me crazy? OR would I embrace it?  How many moms out there are doing both??? Working & caring for their kids? or How many moms left work altogether to care for their children? -  I've been wondering about this.

-post by jen ramos
-please excuse my punctuation, I am obviously not an English major.

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