As part of my New Years resolution to take some time out for me, I’ve decided to start reading again. I use to love reading. I’m one of those people who would go for an extended weekend to the beach with five books and read every single one. Guaranteed, I’m not as fanatical as my sister Amy (I still remember her getting IT one year and reading it in one or two days), but I still love to read.
The problem with reading, is that it take focus and time. Something we mommies have precious little of. Still, I’m determined to get back on track.
Today, I visited the local library, a much cheaper avenue than amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. After paying a fine, why they won’t accept debit cards is beyond me, I began perusing the aisle. I had previously decided that I would check out one “fun” book and one classic. As I get older, I feel like I get dumber. Could this be that most of my vocabulary revolves around “Say Mama…mama” and “No…Mommy said No dog beds.” I mean really, I don’t think I form full sentences many times.
On this particular visit, I choose The Boleyn Inheritance as my fun book and Tess of the D’Urbervilles. We will see how this goes. For now, The Boleyn Inheritance is sitting on my bedside for nighttime and Tess of the D’Urbervilles is in my purse for any time I have a moment.
The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory
As a continue my quest to broaden my horizon, I’d love some suggestions of books. As my friend Amanda would say, my taste in books is different. Some of my favorites are The Red Tent, Posionwood Bible, and The Great Gatsby. Please let me know if you can think of any that I should try. I’m really up for anything and would love to go back and read some of the classics that I was suppose to read in high school, but never seem to finish (or even start for that matter).
In a little over a month, Mauldin will turn one. My baby boy will no longer be considered a baby, but instead a toddler. How did this happen so quickly. In a way, I’m excited about all the new things he is learning and experiencing, but at the same time, I wish I could go back to the little munchkin that needed me to hold him all day long (not night…just day 
).
When I went back to work, I swore to myself that I could do it all. I could be the working mom during the day, and the stay at home mom at night. At last, I have come to realize, that it is just not possible for me. At least not yet. I have learned that every day moms must choose what must be sacrificed. Some days it’s being an employee and some days it’s being a mom.
In weighing the pros and cons of what I can do and what must simply be given up, and couple of things have fallen by the wayside. One has been my blog. I’ve been a bad mommy blogger, but by the end of the day, I’ve just been too darn tired to sit down and write, much less try to be witty. But that is going to change this year. In the madness to come up with New Years Resolutions, I decided to devote a little more time to myself this year. To try and spend a few minutes every day doing something that I really enjoy. Reading a book, playing on the computer, watching trashy tv, and yes…blogging
I’ve already begun working on the first three, so tonight was the night for a blog. So much has happened, well, at least one big thing has happened, since the Fall. Eric and I are pregnant again. In June, Mauldin will be welcoming his baby sister into the world and into our crazy home. Elle (Estelle Lillian) was our precious surprise in Oct. After feeling incredibly ill for a month and a half (I swore it was allergies), Eric suggested I take a pregnancy test. It didn’t even take a second for the test to read positive and our lives to change. This Friday we will be 20 weeks…I still can’t believe it. We don’t even have the nursery cleaned out yet. It’s still a guest room.
I always said that motherhood wouldn’t change me, and in reality, it isn’t. My life is a little more fast paced, and there is definitely less sleep, but I’m still the same person. Mauldin, and now Elle, are just adding to my life more and more every day. Although I didn’t find the balance this year, I’m still not giving up. Being a mommy really is the best job in the world, and I have a great partner to share it with (I love you Eric).
Okay…enough mushiness. Time for my trashy TV. The Bachelor’s about to come on.
Oh please let Crazy Eyes…I mean Vienna…go home!
It’s been a whie since I’ve been on here, so for those that don’t know…we are expecting again!!! Our little girl, yes girl, will be joining us in June. After getting over the initial shock, a story for another time, we couldn’t be more excited.
Today is Elle’s 18 week appointment. I took a half day off work due to the schedule and decided to take the oppportunity to use my Nail Queen gift certificate from Mauldin. Such a thoughtful son at only 10 months.
I’m sitting here typing away, because I hate carrying on a conversation while they are working on my feet. I never know what to say. I feel like I should appoligize for the state of my toes the entire time.
“Sorry, I haven’t been in a long time.”
“Yes, my feet are very dry. I don’t ever remember to put lotion at night.”
So, I’m using this time to update my blog…finally! I promise to be a better blogger this year. At least once a week. That is, until Elle arrives. I’ll be lucky to log on a computer at that point.
This is what the back of your car looks like when you take a baby to the beach for the first time.
Let me paint the picture…
It’s 2:00am. Andy and Logan are tucked soundly in their beds downstairs. Logan snores while Andy clings to what little bit of blanket Logan has afforded him for the evening. Up the stairs all is quiet and the hallway is dimly lit by the sliver of light peeking out from the bathroom. Eric and I are sound asleep in our king-size canopy bed and all that can be heard is the sound of quiet lullabys playing in the monitor. Until…
“He’s up.” Eric sits up and trys to peer over my should at the monitor on my bedside table.
“Hmmm…”
“Check him…Laura…MAULDIN” (No, my husband is not referring to our son. He is speaking to me. For some reason, I can never hear Eric when he calls me by my first name, just my maiden. This will probably cause some problems as Mauldin gets older, but for now, it still works.)
“What?” I finally wake from my deep sleep.
“He’s up, check him.”
“He’s fine” I roll back over to catch a few more minutes until I hear grunting occurring through the monitor. Quickly, I roll over hit to button and look to see what my son is up to. “He’s up.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Oh…well, he’s not crying. He’s actually…crawling.”
At 2:00am, there was my son, turned over in his crib, crawling towards the corner. Intrigued by what he was doing, we watched. There went Mauldin, inching his way into the corner of the crib, and there he kept going, even when he hit it. Apparently, my son has yet to learn that when something blocks your path, you must stop. Instead, he kept rocking in the corner trying to get through.
“He’s trying to escape,” I finally said smiling. “I’ll go check on him.”
So in a went to try to put Mauldin back to sleep. Unfortunately, he was so proud of his new trick, he felt the need to practice it. And practice it he did…until 4:00am, when finally, after much protesting, he went back to sleep.
So far, Mauldin hasn’t quite figured out the corners of the crib. I have awoken often to see him trying to work his way through them. Eventually he will figure out that going through is not an option, but going over…that might just be the way to freedom.
I feel like I’m in confession right now…
It’s been exactly one month since my last post.
I’ve heard about this happening. I’ve read it in magazines and in books. I’ve seen parents do it and swore I never would, but alas, I have.
There comes a point in every parent’s life when they stop themselves and realize, my life now revolves around my child’s poop.
Yes…that’s right…his poop.
Mauldin is five month old now and at about four and half months, we began feeding him solid foods. Why they call them solid, I really don’t know. Baby food is more or less mush. Being the control freak that I am, I have made the decision to make all of Mauldin’s food. So far we have tried avacado, sweet potatoes, bananas and prunes. He also eats rice cereal and oatmeal, but those come from the wonderful world of Gerber.
Here is the problem with solids. Once solids are introduced, your child’s diaper changing routine moves from “Did you make a poopy” (insert cute, sing-songy voice) to “Where are the wipes…gag…I can’t find the wipes…gag…Hold still…don’t stick you foot in that.”
The other thing that happens, is that you become completely obsessed with when, how much, and what color your child poops.
The Poop Report I call it.
My mornings begin by telling Eric to be sure to tell our caregiver that Mauldin has not pooped in 3 days. He then proceeds to take Mauldin to daycare and relay the Poop Report to her. If he poops during the day, Eric receives a phone call let him know. If he poops more than once…more than one phone call. If not, when I pick Mauldin up, the Poop Report or lack thereof is relayed to me. I then proceed to get on the phone with my mother and give her the Poop Report before regaling her with the events of my day. The Poop Report finishes when Eric arrives home and I update him with any news.
For the most part, we are good at keeping the Poop Report in the family; however, the other night, I reached a new low. Our friend, Terri, came over for dinner and cupcakes. I make the dinner. Terri makes the cupcakes, rootbeer float cupcakes that night. My favorite cupcakes are the angel food with cool whip filling … mmmm …. mmmm … I digress. After coming in and getting settled, Terri asked me how Mauldin was doing. I know she was expecting to hear “He’s great! Growing like a weed.” My response however, “He pooped today. He hasn’t pooped in 3 days, but today he did. It was massive too. You wouldn’t believe how much solid food poops stinks. We are going to start trying prunes. I think that will help. He just doesn’t poop enough.”
This is one of those moments when I realize…Wow…life has changed. Mauldin is my life, for the time. My world revolves around him, what he does and what it best in his life. So let me appoligize in advance if I begin to diatribe about my son’s bodily functions. Just smile and nod…I promise I will move on to new topics soon enough. Eventually the Poop Report will come to a close and a new report will open, and the way things are looking, the Crawl Report is about to begin.
This has been quite a week for Mauldin.
Daddy getting Mauldin ready to go see Mrs. Gloria
First, I’m heading back to work tomorrow. That means daycare for Mauldin. To get him use to the new schedule, he has been going half days so far this week. It’s been an adjustment for both of us. The house has been a lot quieter without his coos and sleep music drifting down the hallway. I know that he is in good hands though. When I picked him up on Monday, Gloria, our caregiver, gave me a picture she had printed on a piece of paper that said, “First Day of School.” This, of course, will make it’s way into the baby book, although for now it is proudly displayed on our fridge.
Mommy feeding Mauldin some "yummy" rice cereal
Now the Mauldin is growing, we are also adding solid foods to his diet. The doctor gave us the go ahead at his Friday appointment, so tonight, we began with rice cereal. I made about a teaspoon (at least that’s how much dry cereal I used) and we attempted to eat about half of it. I say half, because I don’t really know how much ended up on the bib and how much ended up in the tummy. It will take a while for us to get the hang of it, but we will keep trying.
Finally, our biggest accomplishment occurred after I picked him up from daycare today. After running a few errands, we arrived home and I placed Mauldin on the play-gym beside me in the office. While I was checking emails, I heard grunting going on around my feet. When I turned to see what the little guy was up to, I found him straining on his side, trying to reach a toy beside him. In order to reach it, he was going to have to roll all the way over on his tummy. He was trying so hard, that his face would get red as he grunted and tried to push himself over. That’s when I grabbed the camera and began filming. I didn’t want to miss this. Of course, as soon as I hit record, Mauldin stopped. He’s so camera shy. Still thinking that he may try again, I set the camera, still turned on, beside me on the desk. Sure enough, he started again. Fortunately, I grabbed the camera in time to catch it on tape. I’m so proud of my little boy!!!
Okay…this has nothing to do with parenting, but I cannot wait to see this movie. I loved this story when I was little, and still remember the live action version that came on HBO, I think, with Carol Channing.
Here is the live action version that I love!
My parents have a garden. Actually, my dad has a huge garden with tons of veggies, and my mom has a smaller version at home with peppers and tomatoes. I love my parents gardens, because it provides us with wonderfully fresh vegetables and tasty canned goods throughout the year.
This year, my mom decided to try growing eggplant. Not a very popular plant, but still tasty. So, last week, she sent some she had just picked.
What did this mean for me?
My first attempt at Eggplant Parmesan!!! It was such a success, that I decided to share it with everyone. I hope that you enjoy it and gain a little bit of appreciation for this purple fruit (yes…it is actually a fruit).
Eggplant Parmesan
2 Eggplant, pealed and thinly sliced
3 egg whites, slightly beaten
1 3/4 cups Italian Seasoned bread crumbs (I just use regular bread crumbs and season them with Italian herbs)
2 2/3 cups of your favorite spaghetti sauce
8 oz Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp. Parmesean cheese, grated
1/4 tsp. basil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dip eggplant slices into egg whites and then coat with bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet and bake in oven for 5 minutes on each side. In a 9 x 13 casserole dish, lightly coat bottom with spaghetti sauce. Then place a layer of eggplant and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Then continue this layering one more time (spaghetti sauce, eggplant, and cheese). Finally, sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese and basil. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.
I put mine on top of angel hair pasta (my favorite).
