Pondering from the Porcelain

I had an epiphany. Sitting on the toilet. Yes, I know this is graphic but that's where bright ideas come...there and the shower. Anyways, I was sitting on the toilet doing my thing, thinking about Miss Juliet's earlier diaper catastrophe when it hit me that all that I am is all thanks to my mother (and some dad of course).  Hang with me here. My ability to talk, walk and use the toilet are all thanks to the patient and helpful instruction of my mother. All of it. I suddenly had a greater appreciation for my mom. You know those moments you wished you would have realized sooner and thinking back to the unappreciative teen years you began to feel really bad, that's me there.

I just wanted to say thanks mom! To all mom's for that matter. You are appreciated and loved. I think Meg Meeker says it perfectly in her book "The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers". She states,

      " The truth is, you are worth more than you can imagine. I don't care if you you

feel like a lousy mom or you are fabulous. Whether you're a workaholic who feels like 

she never sees her kids or a stay-at-home mom who feels unappreciated, you are woefully

 misguided in your thinking...you are not a failure. But you feel like one. I can confidently

 say this because, as a pediatrician, my job is to watch you and keep your kids healthy.

 And when I see them, I see kids who love their moms. I see how your kids look at you,

 hang on to your knees, and hold your hand. I see you more akin to how they see you- as

 a woman who is needed, loved and cherished."

 

Motherhood is no easy job. I'm realizing that now. The tables have turned full circle and I am realizing the sacrifices my mom made. The dreams she had to put on hold, the parties she missed breast feeding in the back room, the outfits she burned after a diaper spillage, the frumpy mom look after those rough 3 night feedings and seeing people you haven't seen for a while in the store ("Really, I don't look like this, it's been a rough night" "Really sister, I couldn't tell by side pony and your boob still hanging out of your shirt"), answering the door and realizing you haven't pulled your shirt down or your not wearing pants (I cannot name the amount of times of done this one), forgetting to eat until 2pm, never enjoying a shower so much in my life (It's the one place that's quite and that I can be free of crotch and boob pads and the stench of milk). Side note, Husbands if you can give your wife anything in the day. Take the baby and allow her to take a long shower. It'll make her feel human again.

 

All this to say thank you mom's. You are needed! You are loved! You are appreciated! Your sacrifices do not go unnoticed...sometimes it just takes your kids 26 years and a baby of their own to get the picture. Love you mom!

 

 

 

My mom Lacy with her first grandchild, my daughter Juliet

Margherita Pizza (with a twist)

We have tomatoes coming out of our ears. Tomatoes of every kind. We have Roma, early girls, cherry tomatoes, black cherry, yellow cherry, beef steak. Don't even get me started on the zucchini. Did I mention neither my husband nor I like zucchini. We learned this after we let them grow to be the size of baseball bats because neither of us wanted to pick them, let alone eat them. Hahah!

This is a fabulous recipe for getting rid tomatoes if you have a plentiful stash.

INGREDIENTS:
2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour divided
2 tsp sea salt
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (all kinds makes for lots of color)
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup light packed basil (or you can find the jar kind that keeps longer, but cut amount to 1/4 ;)
2/3 pound of fresh mozzarella (I like the kind that's packed with oil, see pic)
1 tsp dried oregano

1. In a medium bowl whisk 1 cup of room temperature water w/ yeast and let stand 15 minutes.

2. Use dough hooks and mix 2 cups of flour, 2 tsp of salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and yeast mixture. Then add remaining 1/2 cup of flour and mix about 30 minutes until smooth and elastic. I personally through all ingredients in the bread mixture and let it do it's magic :)

3. Meanwhile, make tomato sauce. In a medium sauce pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat, add garlic and simmer for a few seconds. Stir in chopped tomatoes and allow to simmer for 25 minutes. Set aside to cool.

 

4. Blend remaining olive oil and basil leaves. Stir 1 tablespoon of basil oil mixture into tomato sauce w/ a pinch of salt.

5. Divide dough in four and roll into 4 tight balls. Place on a flour sheet and allow to rise for 1 hour. If you would like to make one large pizza like mine just make one ball.

 

5. Roll our 4 individual pizzas with dough. Bake dough 3-6 minutes @ 400F on a hot stone (stoneware from Pampered Chef in my fav). Remove from oven add tomato sauce, sprinkle basil sauce everywhere and all mozzarella cheese and return to oven for 2-5 minutes or until cheese has melted. Take out sprinkle with salt and enjoy.
* One pizza will need a beginning cook time of about 10 or so and 15 minutes after toppings have been applied.

I even had leftover sauce which I will be using to make Chicken Parmesan tonight :)

Help! I'm a NEW mom!

As a new mother I have received TONS of stuff. Stuff I thought I needed. Stuff like three different white noise makers, electric and hand held breast pump, 4 different play mats and a ridiculous amount of baby clothes. So, I decided to create a list of things that I have actually used so that when my friends have babies I know what to buy them. Mind you this list is applicable for children 0-3 months. Also, I am slightly a minimalist and hate clutter so this is bare bones.

Large Burp Clothes: The ones I have are very simple. They are 2 x 2 feet with surged edges. Most mothers could easily make these from home without much sewing experience. They are great because they can fully cover you for burping messes, can be used for discrete breast feeding or even a blanket. I love them!

Small Blanket: The one Miss Juliet has is called "Little Giraffe". It is only 1 x 1. When I first saw this blanket I thought "what the heck am I going to use this for"? Let me tell you it's perfect to lay over her in her car seat and in her bassinet. Love this item!

Rock N' Play: They sell them at Target! And they're cheap! Juliet has slept in this every night since she was an infant. It's elevated towards the head, which gives a mom nervous about SIDS an easier nights rest. It's legs allow you to easily rock your child. Also, if you travel this item is fantastic.  Juliet will be going on he third camp out this weekend. It's easily snaps to a compact size for travel!

Mittens: Baby nails are so sharp and if you have a child who is constantly clawing at her face slip a pair of these one. Also sold at Target in two packs.

Nursing Cover: If you have to nurse in public and feel uncomfortable about it you need a nursing cover. A blanket does not work! Learn from my experience. Having once tried the snazzy blanket trick I promised never to go back. It was an embarrassing, revealing, squirting wet wonder. Buy a cover with boning. I purchased mine at a second hand store and gave it a quick wash and it works great.

Carrier: Buy some sort of body carrier. I personally have a Hotsling and Baby Bjorn. Juliet LOVED the Hotsling as a newborn because it kept her close, snuggled tight and bouncing as I walked around the house (doesn't allow much movement for right arm though). We are still getting used to the Bjorn. I've also heard Moby wraps are great. There are tons...find one right for you. Borrow a friends before you purchase because you can spend a fortune.

Monitor: It doesn't have to be fancy. If you like to go outside while baby is napping and do projects (like me) this helps. It allows you to have piece of mind that baby is still slumbering away while you're working in the garden. Saves a lot of time checking up on the baby.

First Aid Kit (for babies): Handy to have. You will be using the nail clippers on a regular basis. It's crazy how sharp they are and how fast they grow. Clip while they are sleeping :)

Nightgowns w/ built in mittens: These are just nice and convenient  because mittens sometime tend to come off. You'll see a little pocket on the end of the sleeve that is meant to be folded over (kinda like a sandwich bag). Keep baby scratch free!

Swing: Not a must, but when your second comes around you'll be begging for the second set of hands.

I did not include common sense items (diapers, wipes, and clothes) and this isn't an all inclusive list, just some items I have come to love. I hope this helps! I wish I had a list like this when I first had Juliet! PLEASE add to the list of you have found other helpful items...

To be or not to be....that is the question.

There's always hard decisions to be made in motherhood. For example, this morning Miss Juliet was struggling to take her nap. As soon as she went down I realized her nails need to be cut. For all you mothers out there, you know the best time to cut your kids nails is when they are sleeping, but there is always the chance of stirring them from their slumber. Mmm...tough choice.

 Cut the kids nails with the potential issue of awaking the screaming beast from her slumber.

OR, opt out on the trim and let her sleep with the reality she may wake up looking like Scarface.

I chose option A and thank goodness she is still snoozing away!

Motherhood is sacrificial. During pregnancy your youth is sucked from your bones into your child's. During labor your disfigured. In the process of child rearing you pour your energy, resources and time into your child. If there is one thing that becomes self evident it is ones own selfish nature. I've  mopped myself off the floor several times in self pity. What about my career? I want a no-stop road trip again! Can I get just an HOUR of my OWN time? I want a shower! Will there every be silence again? I'd like to wear clothes without taking into consideration are they easy open! I want to spend time with adults at parties instead of nursing in the back room! On and On. BUT, even in these moments I'll hear her soft rustling, awakening from her nap and I'm all too happy to hold and feed her. She is near and dear to me, but motherhood does not come without it's challenges.

4 MUSTS TO BE A "COOL" MOM

I recently attended a play group with a group of women in my hometown. I abruptly realized I am NOT (I repeat) a cool mom. To be a cool mom you must do the following.

Cloth Diapers…and you can’t just do any ol’shanky diaper. It must be the best of the best. This weeks topic was Ragababes. From what I hear it is cult following. Mothers flood the Facebook site just to get their fingers on a used one at almost the same cost as the new. I change 10-12 diapers a day.  I’ll pass….for now.

The "IT" Bag: As I scan the room I see the Louis Vuitton of baby bags. There is Petunia Pickle Bottom, Ju-Ju-Be, OiOi...the list goes on. Then I scan over to my patchwork one. Buh-dum. It’s like that moment in grade school when you go to your first school dance and all your friend curl their hair and wear dresses and here you come in Reebok tennis shoes, tube socks and your favorite tweety bird shirt. That would be me only I’m 26 and still can’t escape it.

The Ride: This one came as a total surprise. I thought I had the best…well, at least the best from target (tar-shea) . Again, epic fail. You can’t just have a stroller. You need one that you can run with, has shock absorbers, a fancy brake system. Mmmm....Mine has wheels J

Formula: What are you thinking? Bad mom!! In this part of the world it a big no no! I personally breastfeed, but in cases like the wedding I attended last week I supplemented with formula. In this posse it's almost as bad as those parents who put soda in their kids sippy cups.

If motherhood wasn't so new and overwhelming in the first place add a few other moms and all their methods on child rearing and your bound to have your head reeling.

We'll see what I'm up against next week :) Cheerio!

 

Momma Mia...

Motherhood? It's fabulous, thrilling, monotonous, exhausting, confusing, open-ended and freeing. There are so many mixed emotions about being a stay-at-home mom. In college I would never imagined living the life I have now. As a business student I imagined myself the young money monger of some fortune 500 company living the fabulously single, fashionably rich and frantically busy life blazing the untrodden path for both women and youth. Here I am 26 years old, married, staying at home with a 3 month old. My daily routines are hardly what I imagined 4 years ago (they definitely don't make Time magazine) and yet I feel more meaning in my routines than any non-profit or sales gig I had in L.A. or here in Redding. But, I do crave more.

As a new student to motherhood I want to achieve so many things. I want to be the wise, caring and encouraging wife. I want to be an available friend. I want a clean house. I want to be a fantastic cook. I want to be a good mother. I want to pursue a rewarding career. I want to be involved in my community. I want to look fabulous (and not smell of Perfume de leche). I want free-time. I want to travel overseas and across the U.S.  I want to create with my mind and hands. Stereotypical to my generation I want ALL these things NOW! The best lesson I have learned is I don't have to have the perfect house, be flawlessly dresses, make immaculate meals, have a career that makes headlines. Baby steps. I take each day, measure each option. It's morning Miss Juliet (my precious baby) wakes up in a fabulous mood I need to clean the house because company is coming. I can...

a. Spend some time with Miss Juliet singing songs and making faces.

b. Or, put the kid in the swing, vacuum and do a quick dusting.

I opt now for the first option. It's rewarding to both of us. I've learned some things can wait (like the dust mites). Relationships are of NOW importance. House chores will always be there, but the option to spend special windows of time with people come and go.

Today, I choose to be intentional and make time to share special moments with people I love.