I mentioned yesterday about my upcoming trip to the BlissDom conference. And I also mentioned that I am a proud ambassador for Dr. Smith’s Diaper Ointment at BlissDom ’12.

I’m so excited to be working with Dr. Smith’s and am so thankful to them for sponsoring my trip to BlissDom.

If you’re at BlissDom, you should stop by the Dr. Smith’s booth for some Sweet Relief!

Here’s a little bit about Dr. Smith’s:

Diaper rash problem? Solved. Dr. Smith’s Diaper Ointment treats diaper rash quickly. For over half a century, parents have relied on Dr. Smith’s to prevent and treat diaper rash. Dr. Smith’s is developed by pediatricians and has been adopted by moms everywhere, including me. Dr. Smith’s is our go-to remedy for diaper rash. Dr. Smith’s is also recommended by pharmacists.

Because Dr. Smith’s is so awesome, they are doing a great giveaway for Blue-Eyed Bride readers!

Dr. Smith’s is giving away a $50 Amazon gift card and Dr. Smith’s Diaper Ointment products to TWO Blue-Eyed Bride readers!

To enter: (Both are mandatory)

1. Leave a comment on my blog telling me your favorite flavor of ice cream. (Mine is chocolate moose tracks!)

2. “Like” the Dr. Smith’s Facebook page and leave a comment there telling them I sent you!

Good luck! The giveaway will remain open until Tuesday, February 28.

You can also visit Duchess of Fork and According to Nina for additional opportunities to win!

In a few days, I’ll be on my way to Nashville for the BlissDom blogging conference. I’m so excited to get there and catch up with old friends and meet some new friends. And I’m especially excited to learn some stuff! The writing sessions look like they’re going to be so great and exactly what I’m looking for.

My mom is coming to stay with the boys while TC is at work, so I feel really at ease about being away from them for a few days. I’ll be driving to Nashville from Columbia, which isn’t a short drive. But road trips are a completely different story when it’s just you, the car, and the open road.

I’m actually looking forward to being in the car by myself for 7 hours there and 7 hours back. It’s the most alone time I’ve had in a long time. I’ll be able to listen to my favorite songs and sing as loud as I want to.

I made a few playlists for the trip. And because I’m always interested in knowing what music people love, I thought I’d share these playlists with you.

The first one is my favorite love songs.

The second and third ones are both just general favorite songs that are good “driving music.”  Some are slow and some are fast. Some are really mellow and some just make me bop up and down in my seat, safely of course.

As you may have noticed, my taste in music is pretty random. I love a little pop, some 80s stuff, classic country and classic rock.

I’m going to be spending my free time over the next couple of days getting laundry together and packing my bags. Because my mom is coming, I have to make sure my house doesn’t look like a sty! I don’t want to make her feel like she has to clean.

I’ve got a good written schedule for Hudson and Hayes so she’ll know what those crazy boys are up to.

I will no doubt overpack for this trip, but I don’t really know exactly what I’m getting into, so I want to be as prepared as possible. I’m just so excited to see my friends.

And a big, huge, thank you to the fabulous Dr. Smith’s for sponsoring my trip to BlissDom. Dr. Smith’s is also one of the BlissDom sponsors this year. I can’t wait to stop by their booth and I’m excited to share a Dr. Smith’s giveaway with all of you before I leave for BlissDom.

What’s on your favorite road trip play list?

I’ve got a little bit of “mom guilt” going against me today. Hayes had his 9 month well check-up yesterday. It was a normal visit. He got weighed and measured. He is thriving and gaining weight. He’s in the 85th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for height. He’s a big boy!

But before the appointment, you have to fill out this developmental questionnaire. They ask very specific questions such as…

Does your baby look for a toy if you hide it under a blanket?

Does your baby take one toy in each hand and clap them together?

Does your baby make at least three different consonant sounds and/or mimic you when you talk to him?

Does your baby pass one toy from one hand to the other?

I’m reading these questions and I remembered back to Hudson’s appointments. I’d take that check list and put big, proud check marks in every single box. Hudson could do it all! He could do it all with his eyes closed. He could name all of the animals, tell you what color they are, and then tell you what sound they make! (Okay, that’s a stretch.) We had mastered those things when he was 7 months old. Next!

But I was reading all of these questions for Hayes and I realized that I had no idea what the answer was for most of these things. Umm… I don’t know know if he looks for a toy under a blanket. I’ve never tried that activity! He doesn’t clap his hands, so I don’t think he claps two toys together, but I’ve never thought to look. What has happened to me? I was such an over-achieving mommy.

All I know is that when Hayes gets a toy, he takes it and puts it into his slobbery mouth. He does that with anything we give him!

Hayes really crawls now. He’s been kind of crawling and trying for a couple of months, but he does finally crawl. He pulls up, he eats food with his fingers and he tries to use a sippy cup. But he hasn’t mastered any of these things.

I haven’t read What To Expect The First Year at all since Hayes was born. With Hudson, I was ready and eager to make sure that he reached every single milestone and he did it first.

In some ways, this says that I’m a comfortable mommy. Hayes is my second baby and I’m more comfortable with what he’s doing than I was with Hudson. I’m in less of a hurry than I was with Hudson. And Hayes is just much more relaxed and easy-going than Hudson was.

When we sit down on the floor to play, it’s Hudson, Hayes, and me. And Hudson usually runs the show. He talks, he sings, he dictates what we play with and also very kindly speaks for Hayes. He asks Hayes if he wants a specific toy. He tells Hayes what the cow says and what color the cow is.

But looking at all of these things on a list, I realized that I haven’t been as intentional with Hayes as I should be. I admitted to the pediatrician that I hadn’t even considered some of these things until I saw them on the form.

I’m going to give myself a little bit of grace, but I’ve also got a bit of a plan for some activities that just Hayes and I will do together. His lifestyle is different than Hudson’s was. We spend about an hour total every morning taking Hudson to school and picking Hudson up for school. Hayes is adaptable. But Hudson and I had so much uninterrupted time together when he was a baby.

Hudson watched Baby Einstein every morning while I got dressed. Now, I get up way before Hudson and Hayes get up so I’m already dressed when they wake up and I can focus on getting them fed and dressed. There’s not time for Baby Einstein videos first thing in the morning. Sad.

We’ve spent the last 9 months in survival mode, it seems. And I also think I’m in complete denial that Hayes is 9 months old. Isn’t he still just a teeny tiny infant? Where in the world has the time gone?

The thing I need to remember is that I will not win any awards if my child is the one that reaches a milestone first. And I need to remember that birth order has so much to do with these things. I’m thankful that Hayes is a laid back baby because it has helped me be more of a laid back mommy. We cuddle more and giggle more. Our pediatrician has been really encouraging to me and helped me realize that it’s all normal. (But only after she scared the bejeezus out of me!)

But I want to make sure that I’m giving Hayes as much of a chance as I gave Hudson. And maybe being this relaxed, laid back, cuddly baby will help him be a laid back, compassionate adult.

Moms with two or more kids, please chime in!