Dear 2011 Me

<- 2011 Me, hope you can handle 2011 Melissa!

*This is a letter for myself to be read in exactly a year - cheesy, I know, but hey, so is my blog :)*

Hey girl! Didn't this year just fly by? I'm guessing, judging by the one before. Or maybe it went slower, since now you've gotten this motherhood thing down. Please tell me you do.

I hope you found a way to do laundry that doesn't turn your living room and bedroom into utter chaos. Actually, I hope you live in a bigger place. I hope you own it and it has a nice yard.

Did you lose weight? Sorry, I don't mean to nag, but it has been awhile since you had a baby. Just tell me you haven't gotten bigger, and I promise not to give you a hard time about it. Much.

Are you still making time for writing? For your husband? To bask in Melissa's cuteness? I know, it's a lot to fit into your day, but remember, it's a blessing to have so many things you love. It's hard when more than one (or all of them) demand your attention, but just take a deep breath and do whatever's the most urgent. I know, I'm saying this while I still don't know what I'm doing, and you might be reading this in 2011 saying, "Ha! How clueless was she."

I hope you dress better, eat better, and have better thoughts about yourself. That you don't have a secret nervous breakdown inside when you make a mistake. You've gotten better at this in 2010, but it highly depends on how much sleep you got. Or how much chocolate you've had. I hope by now you can still forgive yourself even without either.

Whatever happens, and whatever you end up doing, I look forward to meeting you there. And that's not because I'm sure you can handle it, but because I know God can.

Christmas Aftermath

Hope you all had a great one! A few highlights of mine:

This Purse

My first super cute one! I used to buy purses with just a not-ugly criteria, but after spending my days cleaning Melissa's messes/pukes/poops, I thought I deserved a treat.

This Pie

I made it! I made it! I made it! And it was overnight, which sounds so complicated, but it's totally not. Pretty much just fry the bacon, then add it to a mix of eggs/cheeses/milk/hash browns, put it in the refrigerator till the next day (or 2 hours min), then put panko crums over it and bake it. Don't I sound so Betty Crockery?? I'm telling you, it's the magic of Christmas!

Now, a couple low points...

Larger Pants SizeI know, I know, new jeans, yay. But bigger butt :(. I have no idea how this happened (cough-baby-cough-brownies).

Melissa's Pukes

Don't worry, no picture here, ha. But she's been having acid reflux, so that means unexpected episodes whenever something doesn't agree with her tummy (around 6 times on Christmas day).

So this was my holiday in a nutshell, with lots of eating, shopping and a LOT of cleaning. How was yours?

You Know Christmas' Coming When...

<- Mommy, are we done staring at the computer?


- You've stopped counting the calories since the last holiday party (or way before that - my case);

- Your daughter has bells on her socks;

- Charlie Brown's Christmas soundtrack is glued to your car's CD player;

- Lifetime movies become appealing;

- Starbucks becomes your Meca;

- Ugly sweaters become fun;

- You're poorer than normal, more tired than normal, and even more stressed than normal, but somehow happier than normal. It's the magic of Christmas!

Cheeeeeeez!!

After many many many trials to make Melissa smile, while balancing the camera on the tv, FINALLY we have a Christmas card picture :).

I'll Be Late For Christmaaas....

...you can count on thiis... (from "I'll Be Home For Christmas", if you can't tell.)

That's how I feel about this Christmas. Like "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date" (from Alice in Wonderland - aren't I full of quotes today :). We got our tree only a couple of days ago, and even though it's just after Thanksgiving, I still felt like everyone else had a tree, but us.

Another "lateness": pictures!! We haven't taken Melissa's 1 year old professional portrait like I'd planned (she's already over 13 months), and we haven't even gotten close to taking our Christmas card picture. Christmas cards, by the way? I'm pretty sure we should have had those done and sent a long time ago. We've already started receiving from friends, and I feel SO bad (but not bad for receiving them, so friends, please keep sending! :). I'm SO behind!!

Oh, one more "lateness": Melissa's birthday thank you notes. Ha. I think I was supposed to send those like the week after. Right now, I've pretty much blocked it out of my mind, 'cause I have a million other things to worry about that I haven't even mentioned here. So if you came to the party, you might have to be content with the gift of our friendship.

Speaking of gifts, at least all Christmas' ones are pretty much bought. The tree looks nice, a nativity set is on our dining table and there's even a snow globe on top of the tv. I guess I should rejoice. Hopefully this weekend we'll catch up too - we plan on taking a family picture in front of the tree and finally printing out those cards. That just might come with a thank you note attached to it :).

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.

c

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.