Babes a la Mode

A couple months ago, my friend Brittany and I decided on a whim to go see the movie Julie and Julia. It's not often that I do things spontaneously anymore; call it old age, motherhood, or marriage to my man. So our rash decision to go to an 8:00 pm showing was ca-razy! It made me feel giddy, selfish, and wild.

We both loved the movie and walked away feeling inspired. We decided in the parking lot of the movie theater to form a monthly cooking group with our girlfriends. We wanted to challenge ourselves into becoming more adventurous cooks. And so, Babes a la Mode was born. View the blog here!

First Snowfall

The first snowfall of the season is a magical time. This is my first year since kindergarten that I was able to do exactly what I wanted to do on this blessed, snowy day: stay home and wear sweats! When I was in school or working, I always WISHED that I could snuggle in bed with some hot chocolate and watch the magic happen from my window. Today, that lifelong wish came true. To top it off, I also made cheesecake. For the first time. From scratch! More on that later.

The punk also enjoyed watching the snow out the window, so I thought he should see it up close. I bundled him up and took him out in the back yard.

He was having such fun sitting in the snow that I thought he would like to feel it. His gloves are actually just one fuzzy little pocket; they don't even have a separate space for the thumb. I guess this is because the hands that fit into them do not yet have the motor skills to fashion a snowball. So I took off his gloves and let him feel the cold, white stuff.

I guess he'd rather wear the gloves.

Afternoon Snack

The punk and I took a walk to a small park near our house today. We sat on the little bouncy animals, went down the slide, and crawled in the freshly aerated grass. But the most important thing he learned today was how to blow a dandelion. When I demonstrated, he laughed and laughed. It was great fun. Then it was his turn to try...

I don't think he quite got it.

Tastes Like Duck

For the past couple weeks, the punk has been making his afternoon nap a bit difficult. I like to rock him to sleep because I enjoy that time with him, so I hold him and rock him for about 10 minutes and then put him in his crib. Lately he's been opening his eyes when I set him down, smiling, and jumping up to a standing position as soon as I leave the room. Then he'll proceed to talk to himself, becoming increasingly frustrated the longer I leave him alone. So then I would go back in, wrap him up, give him his binky, and rock him for another 10 minutes. After several days of performing this nonsensical ritual, I decided it was enough. He needs to be able to get himself to sleep. As much as I love our rocking time, I don't love it enough to do it over and over every day.

Of course, as soon as I declared that I would no longer be coaxing him to sleep multiple times, he stopped requiring it of me. He started going to sleep easily. Even if he opened his eyes when I laid him down, he would just roll over and go to sleep. Hooray!

...Until today.

I put him down in his crib and left his room. As I was putting up my Halloween decorations, I heard him making noises. I let him go for about 20 minutes, but it was apparent he wasn't going to stop. So I opened his door. There I was greeted by an unpleasant stench and a little boy with no pants on. I guess he was being helpful. Knowing what he had done in his diaper, he assisted me by disrobing.

As I lifted him out of his crib to change his diaper, I noticed that he had something in his mouth. It looked like paper. I wondered where he found a scrap of paper in his crib. Hmmm...

When I fished around in his mouth and pulled it out, I discovered that it was his Daffy Duck band-aid from his recently vaccinated thigh.

Yum!

The End of Innocence

Baby Zuri

Did you know that a baby elephant consumes a few GALLONS of her mama's milk every day? She will nurse like this for a few years. This, after growing inside her mama for 22 months! And I thought 40 weeks of pregnancy and 12 months of nursing were long. Poor mama.

At least they can both eat at the same time!

On Columbus Day, the punk and I went to the zoo with our friends Sally and Daniel. Baby Zuri was playful and active. She was so fun to watch!

The boys also had fun watching each other.

Chocolate Despair

This is what happened to the punk's countenance when the cookie we were sharing was gone.

He's definitely my kid.

One Day At A Time

I've been asked what a regular day looks like for me. To be honest, most of my days are pretty darn awesome. I am my own boss, which is a blessing and a curse, but mostly a blessing. I set my own schedule and I determine how much I accomplish. This becomes a curse when my personal demons rear their ugly heads and I sink into laziness... but for the most part, I feel fulfilled and incredibly lucky to be able to do what I do. There are ups and downs to each day as a stay at home mom. Take today for example...

Because we kept the punk out too late last night, he overslept by AN HOUR this morning! Do you realize how glorious that is? This means that I also slept in, and I am a girl who luuuuuves to sleep in but rarely has the opportunity anymore, even on weekends! Yes, yes, life is tragic. But not today because the punk slept in!

I made myself a semi-naughty breakfast. The naughty part was the fried eggs and two slices of whole wheat toast with butter and apricot jam. The semi part was that I overcame the temptation to make hot chocolate. I had orange juice instead. And, of course, I shared with the punk, as I always do.

The little guy usually takes his morning nap from 10:00-12:00, but since he got up at 8:00, he wasn't quite ready to go down at 10:00. I kept him up for 30 extra minutes, hoping that would be enough. It wasn't. I put him down in his crib after rocking and singing for a while, but I knew he wasn't going to fall asleep. After spending about 20 minutes on the phone with my bank, I went back into his room and found him standing up in his crib (as is usual if he's not asleep), but he had taken his pants off! I didn't know he could do that! It was immediately apparent that he needed a diaper change, so I picked him up to fix his business, but noticed that an unpleasant green substance was threatening to squish out of his diaper onto his legs, and my hands. So into the bath he went! I figured this was just his way to make up for his neglected bath last night. I laid him down on a towel on the bathroom floor to undress him. After cleaning up his green mess (and may I just say - yuck!), I turned on the water in the tub. After finding the perfect temperature, I looked down at the naked punk who was peeing all over the tub, the floor, and the towel. I just nodded. Yup. Sounds about right.

After his warm bath, he slept and I showered. Then I ate lunch (peanut butter and honey on whole wheat with an arugula salad) while he danced to his singing toys and begged for pieces of my sandwich. After I fed him his lunch of cheese and bananas, we set off to run some errands.

Store to buy bigger bottles? Check.

Pharmacy? Check.

Bank? Check.

Stamps? Check.

While I was out, I must say that I was a rock star at avoiding all the temptations in my way. I gave Starbucks (hot chocolate) the cold shoulder. I bit my thumb in the general direction of Red Mango (plain yogurt blender with blueberries and Ghirardelli dark chocolate). I scoffed at McDonalds (apple pie) and Wendy's (frosty). Yes, this is what my life is. A series of seemingly life or death decisions about treats.

Then it was time for the punk's afternoon nap. Trying to put him down was the highlight of my day. After changing his diaper, I started tickling him a bit. He was giggling so much that I couldn't resist! I got his chubby thighs, his little toes, and the soft spot under his chin. This spot elicits a deep belly laugh that makes my heart sing. So naturally, when I wrapped him up in his blanket and expected him to close his eyes, he was still grinning at me, expecting fun time. When I kissed him on the cheek, he laughed. Then as I stood, rocking back and forth and humming a lullaby, he threw his head back so it was upside down and laughed as I moved from side to side. I couldn't be mad at the little grinning thing. I had started it! It's times like these when things aren't going according to the plan or the schedule that I step back and just smile. I have the best job there is.

High Society

Have you read Pride and Prejudice? If not, I demand that you do so immediately. Twice. If you haven't read it, I'm going to assume you've at least seen the movie. Or maybe Sense and Sensibility or Jane Eyre or Emma.

In these books, the characters maintain a very distinct lifestyle. The womenfolk are completely dependent on their men for their livelihood. The opening line of Pride and Prejudice states:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

This may have been said with a hint of sarcasm on the part of Jane Austen, but it is at the center of the plot of P&P. The everyday life of the women in this book baffles me. How unfulfilling and dull it must be to have nothing to do all day but sit around with good posture, doing needlework! The only occasions that broke the monotony of sitting were when an acquaintance came to "call," or when someone in the neighborhood hosted a ball. Although many of these women were educated and talented, they were unable to put their skills to use because, why would a woman need to work? Her only profession was to find the wealthiest man who would have her and "form an attachment."

As I watched segments of Sense and Sensibility about 7 times in 3 days last week, I couldn't help but compare my life to those of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Whereas I used to scoff at their lack of profession and their complete financial dependence upon men, I now find myself in a similar situation. My most pleasurable days are those on which I get to lunch with friends. I currently bring little money to my relationship. I drink tea [Diet Coke] in the afternoon. I take a daily stroll around an expansive garden to refresh my mind and body [I go for a run on Wasatch Blvd. with the jogging stroller]. The biggest differences are that I cook, clean, and take care of my child instead of relying on servants to do those things for me, and I get to wear jeans and slouch.

Really, how is my life different from that of the 18th Century women I pitied?