Episode 15: Fa-hoo Fores, Da-hoo Dores, welcome Christmas, Christmas Day!

I haven't posted in a while, and this Christmas questionnaire has been going around my friends' blogs (Patchie and Marizabeth to be exact), and I thought I would throw my blogger hat into the ring and talk about CHRISTMAS!!! 

I love, love, LOVE Christmas! It is, by far, my favorite time of year! I love the lights, I love the presents, I love Santa, I love the tree, the music, the specials, all of it! So, without further ado, here we go:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

 Egg Nog, for sure! Especially good out of the little German(?) footed glass that my parents had. I always used that for my egg nog when I lived at home.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

Santa always wraps presents. With the rare exception of an unwrappable gift like a bicycle or scooter.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

I always liked colored lights on the tree, but the Big Man hates them, so we have white at our house.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

We have a Kissing Ball like this one, with mistletoe printed on it. I figured it was safer than real mistletoe, and it looks better than my parents 1970s(?) plastic mistletoe ball.

5. When do you put your decorations up?

Usually, the weekend following Thanksgiving, to be ready for the big party we have every year.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

There are so many to choose from! I love pumpkin bread, especially with cream cheese on it! Also, Pilsbury cinnamon buns for breakfast on Christmas morning, and stuffed shells for dinner!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

I think my favorite holiday memories are the traditions we had every year. I loved decorating the tree, my mom would hand us an ornament, and would direct where to put it on the tree, one of my favorites was a little carousel with a family of snowmen on it. I liked looking for crumbs in the bottom of the milk glass that we left for Santa (it was proof that he had been there). 

Going to the Christmas tree farm to cut down a live tree was always fun, too. My dad used to bring his electrical marking tape, that non-sticky plastic tape that comes in neon colors. We would always mark the trees we liked, so we could find them again, but we never could find them. I like to think that we saved a few Christmas trees everytime we went to the farm. I also loved watching the guys put the tree through the tying-up machine, and the hayride out to the tree fields!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

I don't really know. I distinctly remember a cafeteria conversation where one kid I knew insisted that the way to find out was to compare Santa's handwriting to your parents'.  If it was the same, you knew he wasn't real.

I know that I went through a period of peeking at the presents, though, at about middle school age. And, based on what my friends have posted, I was a terrible big sister. My little sis caught me peeking at the presents one year, and asked what they were. I told her that they were our Christmas presents, and then my mom caught us. She told my sister that they were presents for the little girl next door, and told me that I had ruined Christmas. I don't remember if I peeked after that year, but it was around that time that I stopped, because I was tired of pretending to be surprised on Christmas morning.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

My sister and brother and I used to open our gifts from one another on Christmas Eve, but I don't do it any more.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

By hand? (weird phrasing on this question). We have red cranberry-colored beads instead of garland or tinsel, and white lights. Tons of ornaments collected since the Big Man and I have been living together, as well as a few from each of our childhoods. We still keep several of the clay ornaments that we bought our first Christmas together. They were only $1 each! They remind me of our first house together. I also have several that my mom sent me on our first Christmas in our own house. Some of them had been hanging on my parents' tree since they were first together, so they are really special to me, too.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

Love, love, LOVE IT!!! It just makes it winter like nothing else can!

12. Can you ice skate?

I can, but haven't in a while. During my high school years, nearly every weekend was spent at Twin Ponds ice rink! I used to be able to do crossovers going backward. I rocked the rink!
 

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

In 10th grade (I think, maybe 9th), I was taking flute playing really seriously. I had started private lessons and both my private teacher and band director were encouraging me to buy a better flute than the 6-year-old beginner model that I had. My mom had taken me to the instrument store and I found a $1200 flute that I totally fell in love with! But, I knew that was WAY too much money and there was no way I was going to get it. For the next few months, I constantly joked with my parents that if they found an extra $1200 lying around, they should get it for me. 

Well, on Christmas morning, we always opened our one "big present" last of all. My sister handed me a shirt box, and I opened it. As soon as I opened the box, I saw the flute case. I looked at my mom and said, "No way!" I just kept asking, "Really? Really?! NO way!" I had to open the whole case and see the actual flute before I was convinced. My mom asked if I thought they had filled it with bricks! 

That flute served me all through high school, and is still one of my most prized possessions. Definitely the best Christmas present of all time.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

It's hard to decide. Of course, I love seeing friends and family, but I also like the ceremony and traditions. I love to see all of our ornaments and remember why they are special, I love watching all the same movies year after year, and I love Christmas music!

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

I love Toll House chocolate chip cookies! Also, homemade fudge is always part of our family's Christmas spread. And, kiffles and raspberry almond cookies from The Kiffle Kitchen!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

I don't know if I can pick a favorite. I love doing the tree every year with Mitch Miller's "Holiday Sing-Along with Mitch" playing on the radio, and I love to watch all of our Christmas movies. When I was little, it was my job to put the topper on the tree, since I was the oldest child. That was always one of my favorite traditions.

17. What tops your tree?

Now, we have a ribbon. My parents had an angel for a long time. We are thinking of changing to an angel or star, so that the Little Man can start putting the topper on the tree, since it is his job as the oldest kid!

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

I love getting presents!! I like getting presents, but I always stress myself out trying to come up with good ideas for everyone. Although, my mom says I give great gifts, so I guess I end up doing alright in the end!

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?

Peppermint flavor? Yuck. But the rainbow cherry-flavored ones? Yum-o!

20. Favorite Christmas show? Show or movie?

Oh, there are WAY too many to choose from. Love A Muppet Chirstmas Carol, my favorite Christmas Carol ever! And the only one that makes me cry when Tiny Tim dies, every time. Of course, the old claymation Rudolph. And, How the Grinch Stole Christmas - but the old, animated one, not the Jim Carrey movie. I love the lesser-known A Christmas Toy ("You are thrilling, Meteora!!"), as well as A Muppet Family Christmas. And, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street! I love Bert and Ernie doing the gift of the Magi, and the song A True Blue Miracle.

21. Saddest Christmas Song?

There is a song on my Rockapella Christmas album called "Christmas Without You" which is so sad!

22. What is your favorite Christmas song?

There are WAY too many for me to pick just one! I love the Muppet Christmas songs - Keep Christmas With You, True Blue Miracle, Together at Christmas, One More Sleep 'til Christmas. I love, of course, Must Be Santa from the Mitch Miller album. I love my Jethro Tull Christmas album, with Birthday Card at Christmas, and A Christmas Song. Too many to choose from!!!

What is special about your Christmas?

Episode 14: Kicking it into {Gender} Neutral

So, I'm a knitter, and I'm on this amazing knitting website, Ravelry. One of the greatest things about Ravelry is that you can join groups based on your interests. Some groups are more fun than others, and some more active. Well, when I got pregnant, I joined two pregnancy groups on Rav, and I still like to browse the message board of the more active of the two groups. People often have questions about must-have baby items, or stuff you can do without, (and you know I have opinions) or just funny stories. Also important to note is that many knitters are what I call "crunchy." My definition of crunchy includes folks that are a little bit hippies, into (as far as children/babies go) cloth diapering, organic and fair trade clothes, breastfeeding, and (what I think is) a new trend in gender neutrality.

Wikipedia defines gender neutrality in terms of language only. Most of the moms or expecting moms on Ravelry are at different places in the spectrum of gender neutrality for their children. And I totally agree with it on some level. I don't believe that I should force my child to play with "traditional" boy or girl toys. If the Little Man really wanted a baby doll or princess tea set, I wouldn't care. I would get him those toys for Christmas or birthday if that's what he wanted. Now, LM happens to be completely obsessed with trucks and trains at the current time, so that's what he's getting.

But, I think that some people are sabotaging themselves in their quest to raise balanced children. I have seen people saying that play kitchens are girl toys, which I don't agree with (although it is really hard to find a play kitchen that isn't pink). Trucks and cars are boy toys, which I don't get, I mean grown-up women drive trucks and cars, so why aren't they neutral toys? Plus, I am not the kind of person who takes my time to rail against what "society" thinks or says about things. If I think it's a neutral toy, then that's fine. I don't feel the need to complain on the internet (except, apparently, within the confines of this blog) about "Why don't people understand that I don't want my child to have X, Y, or Z?"

I actually saw the following quote on one of the message boards - "Even the really excellent spatial relations toys, like legos, seem to not want the girls to play unless they’re playing lego hair salon." Now, first off, I must be shopping in the wrong stores because I don't remember ever seeing a Lego hair salon set. Secondly, what exactly is is that makes Legos not acceptable for girls to play? Is it that they are red, yellow, blue, and white? Is it that the included patterns have a truck and a ship (they also include a house, you know)? If those are your reasons, then aren't you contradicting yourself? This was the same poster who complained in another post about girls not thinking they can play with toys that aren't pink. Well, if you want your daughter to play with non-pink toys, then why are you complaining that the non-pink Legos are not appropriate for girls?!

How do you all feel about gender neutrality for children? For those with kiddos, did your thoughts/plans/opinions about this topic change after you had your kids? Are most other parents as laid-back about it as me, or are there more people out there than I think that are really passionate about this subject?

Episode 13: What a Disaster!

So, we had a super eventful week here two weeks ago. Two (almost three) natural disasters in four days! The Big Man was out of town Monday-Friday, so it was just me and the Little Man weathering two of the storms.

First was Tuesday. I was just chilling out, watching DVR while the Little Man was up in his crib. He wasn't sleeping (but I had left him up there for about an hour, just to have some quiet resting time). I heard a truck go by, but it got really loud. For a minute, I thought a bulldozer was going to crash through our wall. When the noise didn't die down, and the floor started shaking, I knew something was seriously wrong, and figured we were having an earthquake. Immediately, I was panicking. Thoughts rushed through my head at a million miles an hour: LM's upstairs! Should I get myself to safety and get him later (thoughts of "put your own mask on first, then put the mask on the child" were happening here)? But, if the house falls, he's not going to make it up there by himself, and he doesn't even have a chance, since he can't get out of his crib on his own. I ran up the stairs (I didn't know I could move that fast), all the while thinking, if this keeps getting worse at this rate, I won't have time to make it to safety with him. I don't think I was ever so scared as I was at that moment. I rushed into his room, plucked him from the crib and started back down the stairs, saying "It's OK, we're OK, you're OK, it's OK." By the time I got down the stairs, I realized that it was over, and tried to switch on the news. I was shaking so much I could hardly hold the remote. Then, no one was talking about what just happened! It was a good 10 minutes before the news coverage started. After watching for a while and no one telling me to seek shelter or evacuate or anything (I've never been in an earthquake, I didn't know what to do), I finally put the Little Man down to play. I texted my mom, who is famous for her caution about severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, and told her that, with all of the natural disasters she had prepared me for, she had never prepared me for an earthquake! Then I started to cry. Really slightly scary crying, just releasing all this energy and fear. I was pretty hysterical. Poor LM, he was freaked out that I was crying, and he started crying, too! He kept telling me "V-voom, v-voom" (he was trying to show me a truck in a book). I just cuddled him and tried to calm down, and we had a few minutes of snuggles. This was followed by several hours of texting Big Man, my mom, and my neighbor. Assuring everyone we were OK, asking if they were, too. I really wanted to TALK to someone, but of course all the cell signals were too jammed. It's probably better that I had to wait, since I didn't just bawl on the phone!

So, Wednesday, as a return to some sort of normalcy, Little Man and I went out to lunch with a friend of ours who works from home. We had our neighbors over for dinner that night, too.

Thursday, there was lots of rain coming in the evening. There was a tornado warning for the county just south of us, and the sky here was getting all yellowy-green, which I knew couldn't be a good sign. I started to panic a bit, so I packed up two bags of supplies in case the Little Man and I needed to go to the basement. One bag of stuff that was in the pantry and could go right into the emergency bag (because you can't carry a bunch of stuff with a baby, and because what if I didn't have time to make two trips), and one bag of stuff to leave in the fridge until the last moment. I was even going to pack ice packs to throw into the cooler downstairs for a makeshift fridge. Luckily, nothing happened, but after Tuesday's insanity, I was overly cautious (or just cautious enough, if you ask my mom).

After chatting on the phone with the Big Man on Thursday night, I realized that we should stock up on some supplies for the impending hurricane coming that weekend. Being a housewife, I don't get much chance to watch adult news. I had heard a little about the hurricane coming, but like many hurricanes before, I figured it would just be a lot of rain, nothing to worry about, and no need to be one of the crazies at the grocery store stocking up on toilet paper, milk and eggs (besides which, LM can't have milk or eggs anyway, so they're not really a good option for food stores at the moment). So I went out and got 4 gallons of water (far less than the 9 gallons recommended), and a bunch of fruit, bread, and almond milk. The wind started first, on Saturday morning, and the rest of the day was spent inside a deluge. It was a little unreal. I felt like I was inside a dollhouse or something, pressing my nose to the sliding glass door to try to see what was going on outside. I think I will only ever remember the hurricane in little rectangles of the landscape that I can see from my windows.

We moved the Little Man into our bedroom in his Pack 'n' Play for the night, as the Big Man and I were both too worried about leaving him upstairs all alone (our house has the Master BR on the first floor, and the other bedrooms on the second). LM was excited to have a special sleepover in Mommy and Daddy's room. At about 10:45, our power went out for about half an hour, which was no biggie, except that we could see the big green flashes from where the tree must have fallen on the power lines. At about (I think) 4 AM or so, there was a big noise, and more explosion flashes from down the street and we lost power again. Big Man couldn't sleep, so he stationed himself in the basement to monitor the situation.We got a few inches of water, mostly because the power outage caused the sump pump to stop working. One big casualty was that all of our outgrown baby clothes were in diaper boxes on the floor, so they all got wet. I spent the next week washing and refolding baby clothes (and putting them into our newly-acquired plastic storage bins), so I think I saved almost everything. We lost one top and two pairs of pants that had stained, but that I wasn't so attached to I had to really try HARD to save.

We laid everything that got wet out on the patio after the rains had stopped, but forgot to bring the outdoor furniture cushions back in before the next few days' deluge, so they all got soaked anyway. They're dry now, and seem to be OK. They've held up pretty well after being left out in previous rains.

Have any of you had an experience that was really scarier than you expected? Have you ever really thought you might not make it out? Have you ever had as many as 2 1/2 natural disasters in a week's time?

Episode 12: Girls, Girls, Girls!

So, everyone who knows me knows that I am a pretty girly girl. I love shopping, I luurve pink, and have a (fairly) extensive collection of shoes. So it may be no surprise that when I was pregnant I was hoping to have a girl. Somehow I sort of knew it would be a boy even before we got the ultrasound. Partly because of our strange family history with firstborn genders, but also some sort of weird feeling.

When I first found out that Billy was a boy, I was pretty disappointed. Now I know as a mother, I should just be grateful that he was healthy. And for the most part, I was happy that there were no defects we could detect at that point, but a part of me grieved a bit for the girl I wasn't going to have. Mostly, I think I grieved for myself and the fact that, with a son, I would be unable to (or at least made a social pariah if I did) buy any of the adorable pink items available for babies. No pink stroller, no pink high chair, pack-n-play, nursery, diaper bag, no adorable dresses and ruffly diaper covers. Not to mention the shoes!! And even now, I miss not being able to buy the cute, pink, frilly dresses available for girls.

It also seems that there are far more options for girls clothes than for boys. There are aisles and aisles of girls' clothes in Babies 'R' Us, or even Target, with only one or two aisles of boys' clothes. Not to mention the fact that I am, generally speaking, not a big fan of clothes that say things. I don't like baby or kid clothes that say "I'm the Boss!" or "MVP" or even the girl versions "Here Comes Trouble" and "I'm the Cutest!" I don't like the idea that people are characterizing their children as troublemakers before their attitudes even become apparent. I also hate the idea that the parents all kowtow to their children forever, I wasn't the boss when I was a kid, and I certainly don't intend for my children to wield unquestioned power in our household. And the girls versions over-emphasize cuteness, starting a lifelong complex that a girl's most important asset is her looks. Also, I still don't quite understand why all of the clothes are Daddy/Daughter or Mommy/Son themed. Can't fathers love their sons? Can't mothers love their daughters? What about little girls whose mothers are single parents? Can't those girls be Mommy's Little Princess?

It also seems as though there are lots more options for girls' clothes that do not have these sayings on them. Lots of girls tops and dresses are just colors, or patterns. It's harder to find boys' clothes like that. For example, if you go to the Carter's website, and click on "Tops" under girls' clothes, there is a category right on the first page for "fashion tops." Boys do have a "polo & shirt" category, but 4 of the 6 polo shirts say something on them, and all of the shirts are plaid. What, is my son 65 already? This problem is what has started my love affair with Old Navy for boys' clothes. ON has tons of baby and toddler boys' clothes that look like adult clothes, just tiny!

But, today, I was reminded of why I should be glad that my first child is a boy. On the Today Show this morning, was a story about a French company that has started selling "loungerie" - lingerie for girls aged 4-12!! (You can see the story here) I was amazed at the photos that were taken to advertise the products. They are truly inappropriate. I can understand that for a girl closer to 12, she may be developing, and she may want a fancy bra and/or panties. I get that. And, I don't really have a problem with the general idea of making pretty panties for little girls. However, the ad photos seriously cross the line!

I am sort of glad that Billy is a boy, because I have a little more time (hopefully) to figure out how to address this early sexualization of little girls with my own daughters. I think we have been pushing the line for so long, with shows like Hannah Montana and iCarly. The shows themselves are fine, and while they don't contain any swearing or sex, they have many storylines about boys - kissing boys, liking boys, trying to get the attention of a particular boy. That's fine for girls that are the same age as the main characters, junior high or middle school age. But, I never really thought that they were appropriate viewing for 5, 6, 7, 8 year old girls, yet these girls make up much of the fan base. Whatever happened to shopping at Claire's and watching cartoons? I don't think we had any of these shows, except for Clarissa Explains It All and Swans Crossing (a kiddie soap opera). Maybe I just wasn't into those shows, or I wasn't allowed to watch them.

What do you think about "loungerie?" How about the increased sexualization of women and girls earlier and earlier? For my followers with daughters, how did you talk about this, or how do you plan to do so?

Episode 11: Eat, Pap, EAT! - Part 4 - Final Installment!

So, here it is, the conclusion to our saga. Enjoy!

Episode 10: Eat, Papa, EAT! - Part 3

*I am a terrible blogger. Here is Part 3, much delayed.*

We got an appointment to see Dr. Wood – the head of the pediatric allergy division at Johns Hopkins. Well, that at least made me feel better. I mean, that’s the guy you want to see. Our appointment was on February 1.

Episode 9: Eat, Papa, EAT! - Part 2

Finally, on November 30, we went to KKI for the first time. We met with several experts at the same time: a nurse practitioner, a nutritionist, a behavioral therapist, and a speech and occupational therapist. We provided a detailed history, and then it was time to watch LM eat! We brought several of his favorite foods, and some puree as well. LM did his thing, chewing and spitting like there was no tomorrow. Both the behavioral and speech therapists were surprised that LM was so excited to eat, but just wasn’t swallowing. After his meal, the team met with one another to discuss their findings before giving us their recommendations. When the team came back, they were baffled that LM was so interested in eating. They had expected him to present more like some autistic children who do not want anything near or in their mouths, so they were surprised that he was so excited to eat and chew, but just didn’t swallow. The team wanted LM to have an upper endoscopy done to be sure that there were no obstructions before KKI started a treatment program. They didn’t want to be forcing food down his throat if it would hurt him. They said that they usually try an Upper GI first, but that it might be difficult to get him to swallow the barium solution because he never took a bottle, and wasn’t doing very well with the sippy cup at the time, either. We were referred to the gastroenterologist. The KKI team also advised that we start working on giving LM puree on a spoon, as that would be how they would start treatment. They suggested that we try giving him foods he liked on a spoon, to get him used to the spoon before trying purees again. 

Episode 8: Eat, Papa, EAT!! - Part 1

So, the Little Man has been, generally, a very easy baby (knock wood that that continues). He sleeps great, he doesn’t fuss a lot, he naps great (now), and he is really very happy. But we have had one problem – food. While this has caused me much distress, I have to believe that there’s a reason this happened to me. Maybe I am destined to help someone else going through something similar, or maybe every kid has something that drives their parents crazy. Either way, I have decided it’s time to try to write down our food journey up to now. That way, I can remember what happened if I need to again, and also so that I can share this with any other readers or parents who are going through something like we did, well, are. This is the first in a long series of posts about my son’s eating difficulties. They have been going on for a little over a year now, and I feel like things are finally being resolved. I hope that you all aren’t too bored by my story, and I hope that if you are going through something similar, that this gives you some help and hope.

Episode 7: Requiem for a Cosplayer

So, I have realized that this year's Otakon is imminent. For those of you who don't know what Otakon is, it is a convention celebrating Japanese animation, video games, and Japanese and Asian culture in general. I have been attending Otakon (thanks to the recommendation of my best friend, Lilaenne) off and on for about nine years, and it is more fun every year! There are a lot of video rooms playing anime series and live-action movies, there are informational and discussion panels run by both fans and industry experts, there are appearances and autograph signings by celebrities from the anime/manga world, there is a rave (crazy techno dance-thing that I've never gone to), there's a video game room, and, of course, shopping!!

One other important aspect of Otakon, for many people, is cosplaying. Cosplay is a made-up word combining costume and play, and for most folks basically means dressing up in costume. Technically, I believe cosplay is when one dresses as a character and pretends to be that character all day, interacting with everyone as the character she is dressed as. But, I find that most people just dress up and act like themselves (unless someone takes a picture, at which point, you must strike a character-appropriate pose). I have done several cosplays in my time, and cosplaying used to be an integral part of the convention for me every year. However, with the arrival of the little man, I seem to have less time and money for cosplaying than I used to. I really miss it! I miss the planning and the excitement of starting a project. I miss the strategizing sessions - "well, I could use this for that piece, I could buy those, and I could cut this pattern here and here to make that other part."

Nowadays, I just settle for wearing my counter-culture T-shirts and crazy hairpieces at Otakon. I'd like to get something cute for the little man to wear, but I can't seem to find many video game or anime inspired shirts for babes and toddlers. At least, not anything affordable. Even Etsy failed me here, with a few shirts running close to $30 (gasp!). I never see any at Otakon, and I always wonder why. It's definitely a business with a potential for growth, since your customers are going to outgrow their purchases, seemingly within minutes! I should start my own business. Maybe in time for next year....

In the meantime, I have to think about what to do. I think I'm going to get some plain onesies or t-shirts and do some cross stitch pixelated characters. Again, I'm stealing from Lilaenne, whose husband is making some cross stitched pieces for the Art Auction this year. Now, I just have to remember how to work with waste canvas. I remember how to put the stuff on the shirt, but I think there was another step to seal the back of the work so the shirt could be washed. Was it iron-on interfacing?

I really miss costuming, not just for Otakon, but also our great Halloween costumes. It seems that the days of making awesome Janice and Dr. Teeth, Melissa and Coach McGuirk costumes are gone. I also don't have the time or money for the next Renn Faire costume I was planning - some sort of gypsy thing that wouldn't be so cotton-picking HOT all day. Plus, it's really hard to find costumes appropriate for a group of 3 people. I guess we'll have to have another baby, so we can unlock the world of 4-person groups.

Anyone out there that was a big costumer before having children? Did you keep it up after the baby was born? Did it take some time to get back into costuming? How did you find the time (and the money)?  What do you all think about baby and/or maternity video game or anime shirts?

Episode 6: Sicko!!

I have a cold. It stinks.
 
I am bad at being sick. I get sick like people say men get sick. I'm not one of these people who sits quietly and shrugs off symptoms, or powers through and pretends they feel fine. I whine. I don't want to do ANYthing. I want to lay on the couch and watch Law & Order. I want my husband (or mom, when I was younger) to bring me drinks and food, so I only need to expend energy to go to the bathroom or swallow more meds. I hate being sick, and I vocalize this feeling often.

One of the best things about my last job was that I had tons of paid vacation and personal days. How do you take care of a baby and a home when you're sick? It's one of the advantages that working moms have over us stay-at-home types. If a working mom is sick, she takes the day off, sends the baby to daycare as usual, and gets a day of rest and relaxation at home. I kind of wish I could do that. I've already had to apologize to my husband because the house is going to be kind of a mess until I feel better. I've sacrificed my usual cleaning time (see also: baby's nap) to take a nap myself. I am totally unmotivated to go to the store - I don't want to leave the house myself, much less wrestle a baby into the carseat (someone has started asserting his independence - welcome to 2!). I am unmotivated to cook dinner, because I don't even really want to eat anything because I feel cruddy.

Luckily, I have maybe the best baby ever! He likes to play by himself with his trains, and will generally give me several stretches during the day where I can just sit and relax.Any other stay-at-home-moms with tips for how to deal with your duties while sick?

Also, I didn't forget about my blog! I'm working on a giant post chronicling the little man's adventures with eating. It will be several posts long. I hope it helps someone else who is going through something similar.

Episode 5: The Self Esteem Train

So, I have all these friends that are photographers. And, I have all these other friends that are "theater people." We have a local community theater in which my husband and his family are very active, and we've met several of our friends through it. Well, with the advent of facebook, I get to see all of their pictures of each other. While I mostly love to see pictures of all of my friends on their wild escapades (that ladies with babies don't get to have anymore), sometimes they make me feel sad.

You see, I'm fat. Chunky, fluffy, Big-and-Lovely, p-h-a-t, whatever you want to call it, I am bigger than I feel like I should be. I felt really great for a while after my pregnancy, as I had actually LOST weight overall, but the belly has been rearing it's ugly head (or belly button, or whatever). Also, having breastfed for nearly 18 months, I have been feeling fairly unsexy recently.

Anyway, back to the topic. My friends all love to take pictures of themselves and each other, and they do silly faces and cute stuff all the time. And they always, always look just adorable. I, on the other hand, try to do silly and cute stuff in pictures, and I just feel like I look stupid and dopey. I wish I could take these lovely, adorable, cutesy pictures, but I just feel like I look silly.

Maybe everyone feels this way. Or, maybe I just look like an idiot all the time. I just really wish that I could look objectively at a picture and say, "Oh, that one's cute" or "Oh, that one's not bad." Maybe I need to follow Tyra's advice and practice in the mirror. Or, maybe this is all just academic. My friends that are photographers probably take a hundred pictures that never make FB for each one that does.

Anyway, for now, I'll just try to keep concentrating on the pictures that I do have of myself that I love, like these:

LM was so sick this day!

Taken by Marizabeth (of course!)

Episode 4: The Mother of All Mothers

So, I'm continuing in my quest to determine what kind of mother I will be. Of course, the simple answer for me is: the kind of mother I am. I've always striven to be the kind of mom who just lets her kids explore and do things on their own. I always think of a video I saw on AFV (don't judge me, it's a funny show) where a young child (maybe 2?) is pouring juice or milk into a cup on the floor, and most of the carton ended up on the floor. Mom just praised them for the few mouthfuls that made it into the glass, and didn't react at all to the giant puddle of juice!

However, the side of me that is very particular and conscientious just cringes at the messes made. I mean, I'm the girl that still has a pristine box of 96 crayons that I've had since junior high. Not one of those 96 crayons is broken or missing. I've always been one of those kids who plays with her toys the way with which they are supposed to be played. I don't want to raise a child who is nervous or anxious about making a mess.

 Take, for example, yesterday's digging time outside: 

 Isn't he cute? Anyway, the little man (I still need to straighten out my blogosphere nicknames for the fam, what do you think of Mr. H and Baby H? I'm not terribly excited about either, especially since I couldn't be bothered to think up my own nickname - blogname?) was outside digging in our new flowerbeds, one of his new favorite games. This was what the patio looked like about halfway through the big dig:

 

Now, I know this is not a big mess! But, there was a little part of me just itching to wipe the patio off! How do I stop myself? 

For now, I just keep reminding myself that as long as I try my best, it doesn't matter what kind of mom I am, I am just Mom. The best mom I can be. And a chill mom, to boot!

In other news, I cooked some seriously bangin' food this week:

Steamed Salmon with Broccoli, Snow Peas, and Water Chestnuts!

And it isn't all blackened from Extra Dark Soy Sauce!

Veg!

Tonight was Sweet & Sour Pork.

Yum!

I thought the Sweet & Sour Pork was so interesting, because you can actually taste the sour flavor, instead of the Sweet & Sour food you usually get, which is a purely sweet sauce. I wonder if this is any closer to what Chinese-Chinese food tastes like, instead of American-Chinese food.

I was super proud of my recipe planning this week. Out of our three cook-at-home dinners this week, I did two salmon dishes, two rice dishes, two dishes that each use half of a chile, two recipes that use cilantro, and two dishes with snow peas, so I won't end up tossing much out.

In other news, the little guy is actually eating real meals!!! I am so excited! He has been eating a real, actual toddler meal for both breakfast and lunch since last Sunday. I am still giving him puree for lunch, to make sure that he gets the protein he needs, since I can sneak it in! I can't tell you how excited I am about actual eating of real food! We are almost caught up to the "average" kid!

Episode 3: HAWT Cuisine!

I always thought I couldn't cook. I could follow a recipe, but I couldn't decide what to put together without one. Or, if I didn't have the exact ingredients listed in the recipe, I couldn't figure out what to substitute. And I was always panicky when trying a new recipe, "Is this right? Is that how it's supposed to look? How long until the chicken is cooked? Is that onion "sweated?" How translucent should the onions be?"

Now, a cookbook has changed my life.

Episode 2: All the News That's Fit to Ignore!

I really wanted to make this post about my recent adventures in the kitchen, but I forgot to take a picture of last night's new recipe (Asian-style Steamed Salmon with Broccolini). It was really tasty, but I need to decide what to do about our soy sauce. We've been getting the real kind of soy sauce (with actual soybeans in the ingredients instead of hydrolyzed vegetable proteins), but the brand we have turns the entire recipe alien-blood-black. It's not terribly fresh and appetizing looking. Maybe we'll just try another brand of real soy sauce before going back to the processed stuff.

So, on to the revised theme of today's post: the news. I've been staying home for about 21 months now. I find that I am so far behind on real news that it sometimes seems like I'm lost! I didn't know about Charlie Sheen's meltdown until two weeks after it happened, I didn't know we were bombing another country for two days! Of course, I'm all kinds of informed about preschool television news, though. For example, Captain Feathersword is predicting a flurry of fluttering butterflies today, and that Chloe Anderson went to play at her friend's house last Sunday (thanks, What's Your News!).

I'm not really sure what the best way will be for me to keep up with real news. I usually watch the Today show while I get ready in the morning, but since I don't get up until 7, I'm stuck with a lot more fluff pieces than real news. Today was a report on the 75th anniversary of school pictures and an interview with Robert Redford. Not so much the news I care about. I think I'll have to try to get to the computer during the day, to get my news the way I used to, from the Verizon main page!

Also, as a resident of a Southern Maryland town, I have no hope of getting any local news except through the local newspaper, which I would never read anyway. The only TV news here is DC news. I know more about DC politics than I do about the politics of the town in which I live! Luckily, I married into the family that knows EVERYONE in town, so we get a lot of local news the old-fashioned, small town way.

In other news, two posts in three days?! Go me!

Episode 1: Starting a Blog

So, I'm going to try blogging again, for the umpteenth time. I keep thinking I'm going to do this, and then I keep running out of time, or stuff to say (shocking, I know, Laura without something to say?!). I'd like to keep a record of my new adventures in housewifery.

As a young woman today,  I feel like the word "Housewife" is a dirty word. I feel pressured to be ashamed of my desire to be a housewife, because I have so many opportunities, or because being a housewife is considered demeaning for a woman, or because being a housewife "keeps me down" somehow. Even though I've wanted to stay home and take care of my children ever since I was a little girl, it seems like being a housewife is considered something I should not want to do with my life, even though the same people who think I shouldn't be a housewife tell me that I can do anything I want. Except that, of course!

Anyway, I'm proud of my job! I love taking care of my baby boy, and I am trying very hard to get all of my other household duties under control! Which leads me to another reason for this blog. I want to share my discoveries, and also ask others for help and tips on how they have gotten their households in order.

I hope you enjoy reading, and I hope we "H-words" can all help each other!