April 27th, 2011

Mom's Stuff:
Nothing better than a warm spring evening spent munching on pita and hummus with my husband and my baby while sitting on our front porch. 'Nuff said.

LP's Stuff:
Man, this kid is busy all the time!! Today he spent quite a while making laps around our car in the driveway, and an equal amount of time making laps around the recliner after dinner. LP just loves to move. One of his latest dance moves is to bob his head to the music - it is too cute! He also loves to go over to our CD player and press play so that he can hear his Barenaked Ladies CD "Snacktime." He also loves to listen to music from Glee with me (lucky for me - the G-man does not enjoy that quite as much!)

Food:
Tonight for dinner we had a delirious black bean soup with kale and rice from Vegan on the Cheap. LP enjoyed the carrots and he also had a great time eating buttered toast to go with the soup, all with a "side" of veggie dog. It was another amazing dinner from the G-man!

Pictures:
Our little Rock Star (thanks Auntie A!)

April 25th, 2011

Mom's Stuff:
Nothing like a week off with my boys to feel good about life. LP is so fun these days . . . tiring but fun! I love running around after him, or taking him on a walk and watch him scurry around so that he can touch and play with all the interesting things in the world (ya know, like grass in the sidewalk, the slide at the park, a shrub that his dad is cutting down). Watching him really makes me want to slow down and live in the moment a bit more. It is easy to get caught up in all the things we have to do day in and day out, and I pretty quickly get obsessed in planning what I'm teaching next week, what we are having for dinner tomorrow, and generally planning for the future at the expense of enjoying the moment. Having time to just enjoy LP this week reminded me why the moments matter so much, and I'm resolved to live them more!

LP's Stuff:
Yesterday was LP's second Easter, but I like to think it counted more since he was totally a blob last year at this time. LP got to go on the neighborhood egg hunt and he had a ton of fun putting plastic eggs in his Easter basket - and then pulling them out and putting them in again! We were pretty impressed since he had to stay up past his nap time, but he was a trooper, and didn't even want to go to bed when the fun was done.

LP is also growing more teeth! He is up to six - three on the top and three on the bottom. He is getting even more adept at running around and now can reach most of our tables, where he routinely runs his hands across them trying to get a handle on things he is not supposed to have.

Finally, LP had a GREAT time with his grandparents (AZ) this week. He took them to the park and showed them his favorite slides. He also provided them with a night full of crying and screaming to help them feel nostalgic for my own baby days :) We all had a great time and miss them lots.

Food:
In a quest to get more greens in my diet I have started making green smoothies in the mornings. Happily LP LOVES these smoothies and usually ends up drinking half of mine! As a previous green-smoothie-phobe I can attest to these smoothies yumminess. Now I even enjoy the green color rather than having to close my eyes when I drink it!
Green Smoothie:
About 1 cup of frozen mango
About one cup chopped and rinsed (and maybe frozen) kale
1 banana
Orange Juice and water (as much as needed

Its a smoothie. Blend it a long time to get the kale really mixed in. If you want your omega-3s, blend in a couple tablespoons of flax seeds! Share with a baby for some weekend fun!

Video: The Easter Egg Hunt!

April 12th, 2011

Mom's Stuff:
Recently, I was talking to another hard-working mom (who has three kids) about some work issues when we suddenly veered into "outside-work-life" territory. I had had a rough day and had been going straight through teaching or with meetings since 8 am (and it was then 4:30 pm), so at some point in the conversation I simply said "how do you do it?" This woman is very dedicated and works incredibly hard. I see her doing such a great job at work and I just didn't understand - I am barely hanging on sometimes with one child and a husband who is home. I continued my question/comment by saying "I just feel guilty for everything all the time."

Now, I have been saying this to many people for quite a while now. This whole "guilty-all-the-time-for-everything" thing. And most people I talk to say very nice and well-meaning things like "Don't feel guilty! There is nothing to feel guilty for" or "You shouldn't feel guilty at all! You work so hard." All kind, generous responses, but to be honest, none of them really made me feel much better. But here is what this woman said:

"Oh that? You never get over that - you just feel guilty all the time."

And you know what? I felt so much better. Because I'm not a drama queen. I'm not bizzare. I don't have a complex (or at least not about this). I'm just a mom. And our society, with it's ridiculous expectations of super-moms (and super-teachers) is going to make us feel guilty. I'm going to feel that way - it comes with the parenthood package just like poopy diapers. Somehow this validation and the diaper metaphor makes me feel a whole lot better.

LP's Stuff:
LP cannot stop talking these days. "Goo goo" this and "ga ga" this. I used to think that "goo goo" and "ga ga" were only for cartoon babies, but these sounds emcompass LP's entire vocabulary these days. He is hilarious as he babbles and points at things emphatically. Sometimes we can figure out what he is telling us (which we often think is "hand me that thing I really want because it is super dangerous - and therefore intersting). Other times he engaged in one of his favorite pastimes - pointing out dogs and cats in his books or on our streets. He is fascinated by these furry creatures, much to our poor cat's chagrin.

LP also continues to run around like a mad man quite often. Last night he just made lap after lap around the recliner in the living room for no apparent reason. It reminded me of when my dog used to race up and down the hallway. LP is also getting better at clean-up time. Sometimes he will put all his legos in the bin - and then about half the time he dumps them all out again. Oh well - baby steps (no pun intended).

Food:
LP is a really big fan of miso soup. He can't get enough of that stuff! He is also getting pretty handy with a fork - he is getting pretty good at stabbing bits of mushroom, bread or whatever other goods are on his tray. Of course sometimes he is more interested in stabbing the food than eating it, but who said food couldn't be fun too!

Pictures: