Tough Week

Reality set in this week.  The newness of my "new job" has worn off, and I'm back to feeling antsy.  I'm tired of waking up early (I am NOT a morning person).  I'm tired of missing waking up with Jackson and watching Sesame Street snuggled with him on the couch.  I'm tired of the drama. 

But right now, it's a necessity. 

Whine over.

Funny Things You Never Expect to Say, But Do Routinely Once You Have Children...

1.  Honey, don't put the fork in your ear.
2.  Please get your feet out of the dogs water bowl.
3.  No, we do not wash our hands in the toliet.
4.  Please don't put your eggs in the orange juice.
5.  Get the dog food out of your mouth!
6.  Do you want the boogie-sucker?  (the nasal aspirator keeps him entertained during diaper changes)
7.  Why do you have pasta in your nose?
8.  Why are there teeth marks in the chapstick?
9.  Is this crayon on the health insurance application?
10.  Please take mommy's keys out of the stereo.

Photos from the Day

 Like most of the northeast, we were buried under snow today.  We took Jackson out to play in the snow for the first time!  

 

Hanging out with daddy.

  

In the backyard...

Catching snowflakes on his tongue!

 

Bella had a blast too!

 

He loved it!

Best Friends

Bella is our 5 year old "terrier mix".  Terrier mix is apparently a euphamism coined by the shelter we adopted her from, for 'pitbull mix'.  Honestly, we were a little freaked out when we realized that she wasn't going to be the easy dog we were looking for.  But we immediately put her into obedience training and bought a few books on raising a pitbull (we got her when she was 8 weeks old).  Everything we read said that if raised well, pitbulls are the best dogs to have around children.

I know our family was a little bit more freaked out at the thought of us having a pitbull, but I can honestly say that we couldn't be more pleased by her behavior with Jackson.  She seems to genuinely like him, and respect our relationship with him.  Please don't get me wrong, we don't trust her AT ALL.  This isn't specific to Bella, rather our not taking any dogs behavior for granted.  We never forget that she is only an animal and that she can only understand so much.  Accidents can easily happen; and not just with a pitbull.

But on a sweeter note...

Ummm.....

Bella, I think we need to talk about this.

.

...and Life Strikes Again!

It's funny, and this has happened a few times.  But when I am up against a wall, tired and frustrated and bored with what I am doing, life throws me a curveball.

A position opened up in my office for a more administrative type nursing position, as the Egg Donor Coordinator.  I am now recruiting, screening and coordinating cycles between egg donors and their respective recipients.

I can still do it part time from home (which is great!) and it came with a pay raise (also great!).  Even better, I am now giving up taking call a few nights, which means a couple days of blessed silence, where I don't have to be a slave to my phone.

Even though it's a few extra hours of work, I am only in the office each morning, and home by 1:30 at the latest.  This gives me the afternoon to decompress and write, while Jackson naps.  When he wakes up, I have relaxed and can completely focus on being a great mom.

On a side note, Jackson has taken to saying "hug-a-mama" whenever he wants to be held a little longer, like before bed or a diaper change.  He wraps his little arms around my neck and snuggles in as tight as he can, then murmurs those sweet little words.  What is a mom to do with sweetness like that?  How could I possibly turn my little man down??

Yummy!

I love to cook and bake. In fact, if chefs worked better hours, I might have gone to culinary school. This morning, I made 3-Bean Salad. While the recipe is ridiculously easy, it is by far one of my favorites. I could eat the whole thing in one sitting, it is that good.

You will need:

1 can of kidney beans
1 can of wax beans
1 can of green beans
1 can of mixed vegetables

1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 tbsp of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Drain and rinse thoroughly the first four ingredients. You of course can use fresh or even frozen vegetables if you are concerned about the amount of sodium. Mix together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the remaining ingredients with a fork until well blended. Pour into the large bowl, over the beans. Cover and let sit in the fridge. This salad gets better the longer it sits in the fridge (within reason, of course!).

I love it for a late afternoon snack and at under $4 dollars for the whole bowl, who can beat that?!

Helping Mommy

Huh?

I've been struggling a lot with time management lately.  Which brings me to why I started this blog in the first place.  My ideal world is one where I can wake up when my eyes open (I've been blessed with a son who likes to sleep late, or at least play in his crib for an hour or so), and work from home, on my schedule, so I can raise my son without having to use daycare. 

The problems arise because I am also working half time, and mostly responsible for maintaining my house.  Please don't get me wrong, my husband is a wonderful man, a great husband and an even better father.  But let's call it as it is.  He hates cleaning and he couldn't remember to schedule J's routine doctor's appointments if his life depended on it.  It's not that he expects me to do it; he just doesn't see why it's necessary.  Suffice to say that we have different standards.

But I digress.  I haven't been able to figure out a schedule where I can keep up with the housework, be a good mom to my son, work and then find time to build my own writing career.  I suppose this comes with the territory of parenting and motherhood - setting priorities, making sacrifices and finding balance. Where should my priorities be?  Finishing laundry?  Dusting?  Actually sitting down to write an article I can sell?

I'm coming to realize that motherhood is a life of contradictions and uncertainty.  It's hard to know what the right thing to do is.  As it's been said countless times before, there is no training guide or instruction manual, so it's up to us to figure it out.  It's about deciding what works best for you, your family and your child.

I know that I'm not the only mom who struggles with this and knowing that makes it a little easier.  But it can be so hard to have faith in your decisions, when it seems that every one you make can potentially affect your child FOR LIFE.  With that kind of pressure, it's no wonder that many moms, myself included, struggle with depression, anxiety and self doubt.  

The only thing I can do is remember to take each day as it comes.  Make writing time and time with my son my very first priority and move one step at a time.  Oh, and delegate cleaning the bathroom to my husband. =)

Naked Baby!

I woke up to a naked baby this morning.  That's right.  A naked baby who only had his diaper and the feet of this footy pajamas on because he couldn't figure out how to get the feet off.  In fact, when I walked into his room, he looked at me and said "stuck!"

We've been going through a bit of a change lately.  My previously wonderful sleeper is suddenly figuring out that the world goes on around him while he's sleeping, and doesn't want to miss a thing.  He still sleeps well, but it's not uncommon for him to play in his crib for an hour or two before falling asleep, or even wake up at 5:00 am, ready to start his day.  Needless to say, his father and I disagree with his early start time.