2010

The end of the year has been crazy. It's hard finding a balance between Mommy Me, Wife Me, Student Me and Geek Me.

2010 is going to be an interesting and busy year. I'm on the planning committee for the Browncoat Ball, planning on going to ConCarolinas and Dragon*Con.

I'm also going to attempt to make Kaylee's cupcake dress which should be a very time-consuming task in itself!

Fantasic Friday!

Mommy News - Emily took her first steps today! I actually only saw her very first steps out of the corner of my eyes, because I thought she was using the play yard to help her along as she always does.

But my husband said - "Emily took her first steps", and I was like "Huh, what?"

Then she did it again, and I felt like crying - my baby is officially a toddler!

Browncoat News - Not really news, but new Dollhouse is on now. I'm excited for new Dollhouse, but it's bittersweet because I know the show is canceled :(

Mommyhood makes things harder sometimes

So, I had to pick up a prescription at the Wal-Mart pharmacy this afternoon. It was a creme they had to mix up so I figured it would take a while.

I was surprised when I went to the counter specifically to find out how long it would be that it would only take 15 minutes.

I did my shopping and looked around the store for a 1/2 hour, and was very annoyed when my creme wasn't ready when we came back. We ended up having to wait another 20 minutes.

If it was just me, I would have still been annoyed, but I was extra annoyed because Emily was starting to get tired and cranky. I managed to amuse her by putting her in the cart and letting her pull things out of the diaper bag.

I'm so lucky my kid is pretty easy going!

Browncoat Ball

We had our first Browncoat Ball meeting yesterday - I can't really talk about what went on, besides to say that it's going to be a super shiny time and if you can get to Charlotte for the Ball, do it!

I am thankful for technology - I attended the meeting via Skype, along with several others. This was great since I could still be involved in the meeting but not have to leave my living room.

I'll be posting Browncoat Ball updates when I can - hopefully the website will be up soon!

On Holidays

Once we moved down to NC, we never went back to MI for the holidays. The DH and I liked our quiet holidays by ourselves and we didn't feel the need to drive up home through the snow.

But now that we have Miss Emily, it's different. My husband, who hates MI, even said last year that he wished we could have gone home.

Because of this, we hauled ourselves down to GA so we could have Thanksgiving with my aunt and uncle, along with my cousins. My cousins have several kids around Emily's age, so we thought that would be good for her.

It was a long day since it's over 3 hours one way, and we did the whole trip (there and back) on Thursday. And I've felt like crap since then.

Emily got to sleep on the way back, and ever since then she has been awake EARLY in the morning. So, I've gotten less sleep.

But it was worth it - she had an awesome time, and it was nice to spend the holiday with family!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a shiny holiday!

Holidays

Since we moved down to NC (from MI), my husband and I have spent the holidays by ourselves. We usually leave our MI trip to the week before the 4th of July since we drive, and driving in June is better than in November or December.

Last year we both wished we could have gone to MI for Emily's first Christmas, but we couldn't afford it. We aren't going back this holiday season either, but we are spending Thanksgiving with family.

My aunt and uncle live in GA - only 3 1/2 hours away. And they have 4 kids (my cousins), and my cousins have several kids who are Emily's age.

We think it's important that Emily spend time with family when possible. I'm looking forward to it!

Crib Recall!

Mommy News: 21. Million Drop-side cribs to be recalled.

This is big news in the parenting world now, since I think most cribs are of the drop-side variety. Emily has a drop-side crib, but hasn't slept in it much. She has spent most of her life sleeping in her pack and play in our room.

I need to find out if Emily's crib is one of the recalled. I hope not, since it's got her changing table attached, and turns into a toddler bed!

I love being a Mommy!

Now, many days being a mom is a challenge. Especially after being sleep deprived for over a year.

But it's all worth it when I look into my little girl's face and she grins at me and says 'Mama'. I just melt because I love her so much.

I really hope I can raise her to be a geek - my dad read 'Lord of the Rings' to me when I was little. I can remember sitting on the arm of his chair as he read from his hardcover books.

I plan on reading 'Lord of the Rings' to Emily, and 'Harry Potter' among other things.

She already loves 'Dr. Horrible' but I think that's partly because Mommy always sings along.

Wow - this was a dis-jointed post. I'll try and have something more interesting to talk about tomorrow!

Pimping out my Etsy Store

For CSTS 2008, I had all the parts of a Kaylee Serenity (tv pilot) outfit. All the parts, but one.

I needed Kaylee's signature parasol. I had found a site online to buy a Kaylee parasol, but when I went to buy it, they were out of stock!

I looked around the internet for someplace else, but I couldn't find any other sellers of Kaylee parasols. So, I decided to get a white parasol and paint it myself.

I went to Michael's to get paint without a picture of the colors I'd need, but I managed to get the right shades of the yellow, green and red.

The painting of the parasol was actually pretty easy and it turned out great! And at CSTS I got a lot of compliments on it.

I thought about it for a while, and with urging from my husband, I decided to start an Esty store - Sunshades and Escapades, that would feature my Kaylee parasols, along with other goodies I've made.

Sunshades and Escapades!

Juggling Mommyhood and Geek-hood

In the battle of Mommy-Mandy and Geek-Mandy, most of the time, Mommy-Mandy wins out. Though when Emily was first born, we would watch Buffy. Or I would watch Buffy and she would nurse.

Now that's she's older, it makes even watching things that aren't cartoons harder. I put in 'Serenity' yesterday to celebrate Charlotte getting the Browncoat Ball next year. And I realized how scary it was - at least for a toddler. Those Reavers are scary!!

Thankfully, Emily spent the majority of the movie sleeping and/or nursing, and didn't see hardly any of it.

Geek-Mandy does get out once in a while. Every few months I escape the house, leave Emily with the husband, and I go to hang out with my friends. I'm escaping on Sunday - we are going to watch 'New Moon' and then go out to dinner afterward.

The husband isn't looking forward to trying to get Emily to sleep, but I'm super excited to go out to the movies and to dinner without the child attached to my hip.

One of the hardest juggling acts I've done thus far was Dragon*Con. I love Dragon*Con, it's one of my favorite times of year. Heck, I even did Dragon*Con last year when I was 8 months pregnant!

This year I had convinced my dad (geek) and his wife (non-geek) to come down for it. We lucked out, and my Aunt and Uncle live near to Atlanta and offered to let us stay at their house.

This had several perks, but one big one was that my Aunt and my Step-Mom baby-sat for Emily. Every time we left the house, she would cry and cry. And the first time I called to check on her, I could hear her wailing in the background. It broke my heart.

My Step-Mom insisted she was okay, and that me being away from her was the best for both of us. She ended up being okay with her baby-sitters, and I had a great time. Especially since I got to spend some time with my hubby as we got tons of autographs.

We didn't go back on Sunday - partly because of Emily. But it was one of the best Dragon*Cons I had attended.

It's a juggling act, and I'm sure it always will be until my child is grown. But I'm dedicated to keeping all parts of me happy!

Browncoat News

News Item 1 - While it's not new news, I'm still pretty upset about the cancellation of 'Dollhouse'. Not surprised, though since it seemed like there were a lot of signs pointing to it's demise.

I'd love to see a 'Dollhouse' movie based on 'Epitaph 1' but I kind of doubt that will happen.

News Item 2 - This is very recent news, and rather near & dear to my heart. The 2010 Browncoat Ball will be in Charlotte, NC - October 22 to 24. I'm hoping to help out since the Charlotte Browncoats are the sister group to the Greenville Browncoats!

The Shiny Adventures of a Browncoat Mommy

I was thinking about what might make an interesting blog, since I'd love it if people would read my ramblings.

And it hit me - what are the two things that I really identify with? The fact that I'm a Browncoat and the fact that I'm a wife and mommy.

I've been a Browncoat in spirit since the first time I saw 'Firefly' which was the very first time it aired. I love this series so much that I was so upset that it was canceled that I didn't even see 'Serenity' (the original pilot) on TV.

I became more active two years ago when I went to my first shindig in Greenville, SC. I went to the Christmas party in 2007. My next shindig wasn't until the Big Dang Larp in April 2008, but I had such a shiny time that I started going to more events until I was too pregnant to travel.

Now that my baby girl is here, it's been a struggle to merge the old Mandy with the new one. I'm still the same geek that I've always been, but now I'm a mommy and I put my daughter's needs in front of my own.

I hope those of you out in the 'verse enjoy this blog! I hope to make it entertaining and informative!