Don't you wish you knew what they were thinking?

Making the most of it

Lately I've been lamenting the fact that it's gorgeous outside, I live 75 steps from the beach, and I'm stuck in the house with a kid. A year ago I would've been lounging by the sea working on my tan, but we all know life changes when you become a parent. Not that I don't drag Jack along to the shore whenever I get a chance, it's just that it's a lot more work! First I have to get us both in swimsuits, then I have to pack the beach bag, pull together the large-enough-that-sand-isn't-within-his-reach-blanket, umbrella, and beach chair. Lather the 50+++ sunscreen on a squirmy babe. And carry all this out there with an additional 23 pounds on my hip. Then I spend the whole time entertaining a baby, trying to keep sand out of his mouth and the hat on his head. Not that our beach trips last long anyway. It's hard to accomplish much sunbathing when your son requires 3 naps a day.
I'm done griping. It's time I do something about this that works for both us. I've finally figured out a way that Jack can take a swim, in the shade, while I simultaneously get a tan and read a book! The only thing missing is the sand!

Baby Fever

I'm sure it's just the age I've reached, but all of a sudden it feels like anyone and everyone is gettin' pregnant. Well almost everyone, those who aren't, you know who you are, and Jack and I have a target on your house! Okay so I know it is not my personal mission to convince all couples to have babies, but c'mon, don't we make it look like so much fun!! ;)
When I was first pregnant I began to notice how many pregnant women there are in the world. Everywhere I'd go - mall, grocery store, school, church - I'd spot these Mamas. Now that Jack is here, I'm becoming more and more aware of babies. I eye down every stroller, wondering about the little tot inside, trying to figure out if each child is older, younger, bigger, smaller, cuter, smarter, etc. than Jack. (Usually they are not cuter or smarter).
You know you've arrived in the "childbearing years" when start running in to your friends and co-workers at Babies 'R Us on a Saturday. Part of me misses the end of the young and free era, but I've found that this age is a lot more fun than I imagined - full of excitement and anticipation. We're so thrilled for all of our friends who are having babies! Baby Fever has definitely arrived. I have to admit, I can't wait to be pregnant again. Besides, Jack has grown so big, so fast, I feel like I hardly got to enjoy the newborn months :(, I could really use another baby! But for those of you who are already asking, we're not ready quite yet. I really want to take the time to focus on Jack, continue learning all the tricks of a first-time mom and, most importantly, get my abs back! Plus we have to consider that we'll be making a big move next summer, and Jon will either be starting a new job or a new grad school program in the fall. Not that he would have to do much with a baby those first few months, but I could really use his help with Jack. :)
So for now I'm just going to enjoy all our friends' babies. I do love watching this new generation arrive. And I can't help but wonder which of these babies will end up being Jack's best buddies or even future wife (I know, I know, I'm one of those moms who starts picking out spouses from the womb).
Mommyhood is a whole new dimension, it's like experiencing life in a completely different way. And mommies love to talk about it with other mommies. So get yourself a baby and come hang out with Jack and I!

I laughed so hard I cried ...

... anyone who's read up on Mommy blogs may find TAMN's humor too true!! For rillz.

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com

All I want to know is ...

... is this normal? And when will it end?

Because milk isnt the only food I make

Jack's kinda a big eater. We are officially on a 4-hour schedule (hooray!) eating 4 times a day (and sleeping 11.5 hours at night I'm happy to add!!!). But besides 4 "servings" of milk he also eats two bowls of cereal and 5 jars of baby food each day. That's 14 bowls of cereal and 35 jars of baby food a week. That's almost $20 a week extra in groceries, or over $80 a month!! So I'm trying to get better at making our own babyfood. Not that it's hard work, but it does take a lot of time. And as a working mom I have to evaluate just how much my time is worth. On the other hand, it's somewhat difficult to justify spending $.45 on a 3.5 ounce jar of squash, when I could spend only $.40 a pound for the real thing. Not to mention that squash is my favorite to make!

My first two experiments were squash and sweet potatoes, both went well. I then tried peas. They turned out okay but are on the chunky side, and Jack's just not used to too much chunk yet. Then I tried carrots. I thought these turned out pretty good but he started gagging when I tried to feed them to him today. He's so dramatic. I ended up mixing half of my carrots with half of the store carrots and that seemed to work okay. By the way, how long does it take to steam some carrots!? Much longer than I originally thought. So long, in fact, that I forgot about them. Until I noticed a burning smell. I can now add the cost of one permanently damaged pot to my babyfood budget.

I haven't yet braved the fruit. Although I did get smart enough to buy natural applesauce in bulk and freeze it in an ice cube tray since the jar goes bad after 10 days. And I found some recipes for teething biscuits I want to try soon. So far we're on a strict milk, cereal and stage 2 fruits and veggies only diet (and only the ones that consist of food and water, not that other crazy stuff!). It was hard enough starting Jack on solids, but I don't know what I'm going to do when he can start snacking on his own Cheerios. Then he really won't need me around anymore. :(

An Off Week

So last week was just off. It was probably a combination of coming off a week at the grandparents, followed by a weekend with houseguests, in addition to a change in our schedule, on top of Jack becoming more and more interested in everything but nursing and so on and so on. Seriously, if you were ever in the same room as Jack and I when I'm trying to feed him (and you wouldn't be because if he even hears someone else breathing in the same room we might as well forget eating altogether, but theoretically, if you were) you would probably notice his little legs running a marathon, his free hand conducting an orchestra, his other hand tickling my ribs, and his eyes trying to follow a speck of dust around the room - all while he's supposedly taking nourishment. It doesn't work that way kid. Sigh, it's going to be a long next-5-months-or-so-until-we-wean. :( Well anyway, feeding issues aside, can we say "Someone's being uber-clingy this week!" I'm sure it had a little to do with the abundance of audience he's experienced recently, and then poor Jack woke up Monday morning to only me, and a very busy me at that (Jon was in Colorado on business). I had a lot of catching up to do with both work and house stuff, but Jack had other plans, which inluded being in my arms or within touching distance every waking moment of the day. By Day 3 I thought I was going to lose my mind. Do you know how hard it is to get anything done when your entire right side is weighed down by 23 pounds of a weepy, whiny mess? And blanket time? If I even stepped out of eyesight (i.e. stood directly behind him which is too far for him to turn those adorable, chubby little cheeks) the Jackster went into major meltdown mode. Check out what happened when I stepped out into the kitchen to grab my glass of water:
Okay so I know you're probably thinking I'm some heartless mom who just lets her kid sit on the floor and cry all day, but cut me some slack. All week. Of that. And no husband to receive the hand off when he comes home from work. Actually, I just realized that morning how cute Jack's little face is when he's crying and I wanted to make sure it was captured on video so we can show it to his future wife one day and all laugh together. And even more importantly, I want to make sure I maintain a good blogging balance between my-beautiful-son-is-so-wonderful-and-sleeps-through-the-night-I-love-being-a-mommy!!! and someone-please-take-this-child-off-my-hands-I'm-going-to-beat-my-head-against-the-wall. Because, let's be honest, I've experienced both ... and everything in between. But it did get better. My husband did eventually come home and gave me a whole afternoon off, which I accidentally cut an hour short because I mis-calculated naptime. Blast! But it was still good because I ended up getting a great deal on not one, but two swimsuits! Which I desperately needed since the one I wore last year kinda resembles a tent. And now I feel so much better!