Holiday Laziness

<- Melissa unusually social with great grandparents.

Sorry I haven't updated this blog as much as I used to, but I think everybody's allowed to be lazy before/during/after Thanksgiving, aren't we??

Anyway, hope everyone had a good time, and didn't stress out too much making turkeys. We headed to hubby's grandparents' house (about 3 hours away), and it was a blast. Melissa was surprisingly comfortable in the new surroundings (another sign we need to buy a house), and even bonded with great grandpa and grandma! That's amazing, because she RARELY bonds with anyone besides mommy and daddy (she's very particular about the people & stuff around her).

Another AWESOME thing that happened is that David and I had a date and we got to see Tangled!!!! Little Mermaid, step aside - I have found a new Disney favorite! Of course, there were a few iffy things (like Rapunzel hangs out with some drunky viking types who help her in their drunkness, and the point of the story is how she should rebel - interesting for 18 year olds, but not for 10 year olds!), but the things that I did like, I absolutly LOVED. The comedy was top notch, better than a lot (maybe most) of the comedies out there. LOTS of laugh out loud moments. Besides, I love Mandy Moore's voice, so loved the music too.

The guy's voice was Zachary Levi, the actor from Chuck who made his music debut with Katharine McPhee here:



If you don't like this, you have never loved :).

New Moms, Beware

<- Get this with The New Mom's Stress Survival Kit - highly recommend!!

Now that I've, ahem, graduated from the status of new mother to the glamourous (not :) position of a toddler's mom, I've got a few pointers for you, oh inexperienced fresh-out-of-the-hospital mommies. Preggos can benefit from these too, though you might want to enjoy blissful ignorance while you can.

So, a few things I'd avoid if I were you...

Scary Advisors

These are people that will tell you the baby will die if he/she eats something non-organic, become autistic if you turn on the tv, and have psychological issues if you go out on a date. Now, of course I'm exagerating here, so I'm not saying don't be careful, but I'm just saying, don't be scared all the time. Then you won't have time to enjoy the baby.

Super Mom Syndrome

You cannot, physically, be with your baby at all times while keeping a spotless house and looking like the cover of Parents magazine. I'm sorry. Please lower your expectations of yourself and what you think you're supposed to look like or achieve in a 24-hour period. This does not make you a failure; it makes you a more mature person who'd just discovered the value of rest. You will find your new, baby-friendly process of doing things, I promise.

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Baby Isolation

I know, you love your baby; he/she's the best friend you ever had. Totally accepting when you emerge in the morning with your hair up and 2 days ago's makeup, dependent on you like no one else. It's good to feel needed, and heck, it's just addicting to hug our babies. But please remember, there are other people who love you. People who would love to get a call or email from you, just to remind them that you still care, and don't just have space for your baby in your heart. Which brings us to...

Marriage Amnesia

Remember, your husband? True, he looks even better as the father of your child, but he is, still, your husband. You're still supposed to go on dates with him, and enjoy his existence. I know, the baby takes out your heart, your soul and your body, but you'll just have to discover a way to love your husband in your new role. You're both different now; it doesn't have to be the same as pre-baby days. But he can be your shoulder to lean on, and someone to remind you that you're still pretty awesome by yourself, without a baby attached.

Dear Anti-Baby People

I understand I bore you with my non-stop baby talking. I understand my baby's poop or puke don't sound interesting, and truthfully, it doesn't sound interesting to me either. But I'm living it, and I have to talk about what I live.

I'd LOVE to have a super interesting, traveled and glamorous life that could wow everybody with my interesting subjects. Or, thinking again, maybe not. I DO enjoy my life. Imagine that. I stay at home ALL day taking care of a baby, and sometimes don't get out for a couple of days, but I can say I'm happy. I still have dreams of doing other stuff, but I am happy where I'm at.

Now, I'm glad you're happy where you're at (or I hope you are). You've chosen not to have kids right now, or you don't for whatever reason, but you're investing in yourself, and that's really what you should be doing. You have a freedom that I've forgotten how it felt like, and sometimes I even kinda live vicariously through you. So because of this I ask you:

Can you be happy that I'm happy?? While you're understandably bored by my baby talking, can you just be okay with the fact that I enjoy it? I'm okay with you venting about your latest adventure, when I can barely get out of the house, so can you just be happy for me, without asking me to tone it down?

Why I'm a Baking Convert

Notice that I say baking, not cooking - I still don't like cooking much, but just discovered I love baking. Ever since the cupcakes experiment for Melissa's party, I've been looking for more stuff to bake. So here are the benefits I'd found so far:

Perfect Airfreshner

No candle in the world will smell as good as something actually baking. Ok, it does depends on what you're baking, but you can't go wrong with anything chocolate.

Most Rewarding Exercise

Amazingly enough, I think I actually lost a couple of ounces ever since I started this. Turns out there's a lot of standing involved (and running around the grocery store).

This Apron

This would make my pajama-y stay at home outfits SO much more attractive.

Good Housekeeping Validation

Remember when I wanted to sue Good Housekeeping Magazine? I still kinda do, but baking makes me want to do it less. Suddenly the recipe pages don't look so daunting anymore. It's also nice to be able to answer to all the people that wonder what I do of productive besides just chasing/feeding/cleaning/entertaining/comforting a 1 year old - I BAKE!!! :D

Goodbye, Breastfeeding

<- First week: I'll get the hang of this, baby, I promise.

It was good while it lasted. Really, it was. Never mind my look of torture the first few months, or the first days of teething. Never mind my nervous breakdowns when I just wanted to go to bed, but had to pump first. And never mind my almost daily baths of squirted milk. It was all worth it, for a myriad of reasons.

The first one being the health of my baby, of course. The second, right after that, was the closeness to her. After the initial pain is done, all you feel is love and wonderful oxytocin hormones. Perfect to calm my new-mom stress. And the third (or maybe the 2.5 place) was the convenience. Once I got it down, it was way easier than preparing a bottle.

I breastfed my baby for a year. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I just typed that. I thought I wouldn't last a week. A day. This thing was SO incredibly hard, and I was so incredibly sore and stressed out after giving birth that I didn't think it was possible. I remember my doctor suggesting I do it for 6 months, or maybe a year, and I thought, yeah right. My butt still hurts from pushing this baby out, you want my niples to hurt too??

But yet, here we are. Thank you, super powerful pump that I rented from the hospital and used almost exclusively for the first month. Thank you, persistent hubby who kept putting the baby on my boob, even though I'd tell you to just let me sleep. Thank you, massive breastfeeding promotion out there, 'cause even though you've alienated some distressed mothers that could be better off not breastfeeding for whatever reason, for me you caused joy. Pain and suffering at first, of course, but pure joy afterwards. The joy of bonding and knowing I can feed my child just by being me. And now, the joy to say I'm done.

Party & Food Facts

<- I SO deserved that cupcake :).

Warning: this post will be random.

Especially for non-bloggers, who might not be used to the randomness of bloggin' world, and might expect something deep or amazing out of every post. Sorry to disappoint you.

But anyway, since I was too exhausted out of consciousness to really describe Melissa's party on my latest post, I decided to do it now:

- Melissa screamed in terror when she saw everyone (our tiny apartment was pretty full). She'd only calm down when we'd give her pizza.

- She did NOT like my chocolate cupcake!!!! My heart is broken forever. How can MY child not like chocolate? I had so much of it during pregnancy that I thought I'd give birth to a chocolate. Maybe I overdosed her already.

- I was kind of afraid to have so many toddlers (4) plus 2 babies plus Melissa at home, but I ended up loving it! So much cuteness around. And they were the ones that liked my cupcakes the most (minus Melissa).

- When the party began, I'd already been standing for hours cleaning the house/cleaning Melissa/putting Melissa down for a nap/baking cupcakes/icing cupcakes/decorating the house/etc. So by the time the first person came in, I was ready to go take a nap. Good thing my glorious cupcakes sustained me with sugar.

- It's been 3 days, but still haven't taken the balloons down or taken out the pink table cloth - then I think the magic will be over. And I don't want it to be over; it still motivates me to keep the house clean.

Now, more unrelated randomness:

I've been tagged!! Thanks, Amber (A Day in The Life of Amber). For those of you non-bloggers, it's when another blogger (which was previously tagged herself) sends you a bunch of questions, and then you're supposed to send those to whoever you want. Must sound silly to unblogging people, but to us it's awesome! :)

Anyway, here they go:

1. What is your favorite dessert?

Pretty much anything chocolate. The kind varies - now that it's cooler I'm craving baked stuff, warmed up in the microwave/oven for perfection.

2. Ever tried to cook something and failed miserably?

I'm not very daring in the kitchen (um, as if I was anywhere else), so I can't remember a tragic moment...

3. Is there a dish you haven't made yet but really want to?

I'd like to do a turkey one day. Maybe this Thanksgiving?? Not sure, it's too important of an occasion - like, if you ruin the turkey, you ruin Thanksgiving :). So I might just take the easy grocery store way.

4. What is your favorite food?

Brazilian is AMAZING - have you ever heard of churrascarias? If there's one where you live, GO - your life will never be the same. Unless you're a vegetarian.

5. What is your least favorite food?

Anything spicy. And I have a very, very LOW tolerance for spices. As in, pepperoni pizza is my limit.

6. Do you have any seasonal meals you like?

I'd been dreaming of last Thanksgiving's leftovers until very recently - had to remind myself this one's coming soon! :)

7. What's your comfort food?

Something warm and chocolaty.

8. Chocolate: milk, dark or white?

On a chocolate bar, milk all the way - dark is too rich, and white is, well, not chocolate. BUT those two can also work really well on other stuff, like rich fudge brownies (the milk ones just don't cut it), and white chocolate mocha (aaaaaaah).

Okay, so now that you know the depths of my food preferences (didn't that change your life?), it's time for me to tag people. So I taaaaaaag (drum rooll)....

- The Empress at Good Day Regular People

- Lori at Mommyfriend

- Mandi at Mandi Miller Blog

- Meg at O. is Me

- Adriel at The Mommyhood Memos

- Olivia at Two Tiny Tornadoes

- Julia at 2 Pouty Princesses

- Kim at Kimberly's Expressions & Mommyhood Craft Corner

Boy, it will take awhile for me to let all these people know... But the person who tagged me tagged 8, so I guessed that was the right number. Oh well... If you had a blog, you'd understand :).