Thank You, Lori!

Maiya loves her new hat!

Thoughts on Motherhood, Before & After

Before I became a mom, I thought: If I'm nice to my kids they will always be nice to others.
After: Oh man, he's figuring out how to be selfish all on his own.

Before: If I give my kids a variety of foods, they will not be picky eaters.
After: Really, Maiya? You won't keep one bite of cottage cheese in your mouth?

Before: How expensive can children be? I'm sure it's not too much.
After: What?! Diapers are more than the electric bill?

Before: I will be able to relate to most moms when I have kids of my own.
After: Wow, there are a lot if different ways to do this.

Before: I won't be one of those moms who goes out looking like a mess.
After: I have both indoor and outdoor sweatpants.

Before: I would never feed my children fast food.
After: Burger King has a veggie burger and apple slices, we're there.

Before: Drive thru's are for lazy people.
After: Yes, I'll drive 10 miles out of the way to go to a drive-thru bank. Even when gas was $4/gallon.

Before: I'll make everything from scratch so they can have the healthiest food available.
After: Hm, this prepackaged stuff looks pretty healthy.

Before: I won't be a nervous mom, I'm sure they'll be just fine.
After: Maiya has been sleeping a while, I better go make sure she's alright, and risk waking her.

Before: I won't be one of those moms who can't stop talking about her kids.
After: This blog, case in point.

What else? What did you think before you became a mom?

A donut plant is a good plant to grow.

Saturday morning was the typical drill at our house. Breakfast. Toys all over the living room. The Food Network on TV. Everybody in pajamas. The show we were watching reviewed a donut place in the city and the donut glazes were made from fresh in-season fruit and they homemade all of the jelly for the fillings. Dave asked if I wanted to go. I was practically in the car before he could get the words out. Not quite, because getting out the door with two kids takes an hour not a second, but in my mind I was halfway to Manhattan.

When Dave used to visit me in Delaware for the weekend, while we were dating, we would go to Dunkin Donuts in our pajamas. We were so cute back then. Anyway, this time, we all got dressed. Here's how it went (Jon & Kate style):

4 Shirts
4 Pants

8 Socks

6 shoes

2 diapers

4 coats

2 hats

So, we crossed the Hudson and got ino the city in record time. I said I wanted to sit down and have some coffee with my donut, but the crowd winding out the door of the place indicated there were no facilities to accomodate me. This was a gigantic kitchen with a counter.

So, the Family From The Suburbs parked the SUV, unfolded the bulky double stroller and waited in line for donuts among the sleek, kid-free citizens of SoHo. Maiya, in true form, began to scream just as we made it to the counter. Dave had to make the executive decisions on our donut selection as I fixed my coffee-to-go and ushered her our the door, away from The Stares.

We ate our donuts in the car. Not all of them. I will not disclose here how long it took us to consume 8 donuts because that's a family matter.

You might like the dessert Creme Brulee, but until you've sampled a donut of the same name from the Donut Plant (complete with the crispy top), you haven't enjoyed Creme Brulee to it's fullest potential. We also tried a pistachio donut, which was delightful, as the nuts were fresh roasted. Even the plain donut with chocolate frosting was divine. What I mean to say it, was completely worth the drive, the toll to leave New Jersey and the outrageous price ($19 for 8 donuts). If you're in the area, it's called Donut Plant on Grand Street.

Haven

This is the face of an angel. Yes, I'm one of those moms. Shamelessly proud of my babies. I finished the post about Maiya and could not stop thinking about all I would write in a post about Haven. So here I am again.

This child brings so much laughter to our family. I've mentioned before his love for music. Before I put him in his crib I sing him a couple of songs. If I sing a song he particularly likes, he says "More?" every time I stop to take the quickest breath. Jesus loves me this I know - inhale - "more?" for the Bible tells me so - inhale - "more?" and so on, throughout the song. It makes me laugh every time.

Today was his first alone play date. I told him a few times in the car where we were going and that I wasn't staying with him. "And Maiya?" (He always wants to know if Maiya will be present as well.) I explained he would be there with his friend and her mommy. He had a fun time and was in a great mood when I picked him up.

Somehow, he is almost 2 years old. He has little fits, but generally he's mild mannered. He loves to help and he has two chores: feeding our cat and putting dirty diapers in the trash can. He loves to watch football with Dave. He loves to play catch and says "good catch!" and "good throw!" He sleeps with the little stuffed characters from the Backyardigans and calls them his "guys."

He's dramatic - how could he not be with us as parents? If we tell him no his whole face scrunches into the saddest little expression for a moment (maybe he's hoping we'll change our mind?) and then he cries. He's distractable though. Usually "The Wheels on the Bus" song cheers him up in no time. Distractions, prevention and positive reinforcement have been the most effective discipline techniques with him so far.

I love this little guy. Can't stand how cute he is sometimes. I'm so proud of the little man that he is.

Maiya

I took Maiya for her six month check this morning. My little bean is already halfway to 1. She's a healthy 19 lbs 7 oz. Almost off the charts. I asked the doctor how I will know if she's nursing enough since she nurses less frequently since she started solids. He just looked at her and smiled and said, "She's nursing enough."

She loves to eat food. She attacks the spoon. She leans so far forward toward an incoming spoonful that she would fall out of the high chair if she weren't strapped into it. That's my girl.

She falls asleep by herself, which is great, but staying asleep is another issue. Almost every night she wakes an hour after I put her down and she screams. Usually she wants to eat and then hang out for a while. She then she goes right back to bed without a problem. I don't know what's up with that, but, I know won't last forever.

She doesn't roll yet, which seemed to alarm the doctor a bit. I told him candidly that Haven didn't roll until he was 6 months old. It's nice to worry less this second time around. I know now that once she starts moving, that's it. It's a whole new world of chasing and vacuming and babyproofing.

Last night I brought her to our bed when she woke up sometime after midnight. She was nursing and I was almost asleep. I glanced down at her and her huge greenish-brown eyes were wide open staring at me. Then she swung her head around and looked at Dave. We thought she was falling asleep, so it was funny to see those eyes popped open, looking at everything. Maybe you had to be there.


I just want to remember all of this cuteness.

Home Sweet Stayin' Home.

Merry Christmas Eve! This is our first year to stay home, just our family, at our house for Christmas. I'm so excited. It's not that we have mounds of gifts to exchange and we'll probably have a simple dinner, but I'm happy to spend the day with my little family in our little house. I can't help but be thankful for what we have. Love. Health. A white, though melty, Christmas.


Last weekend my Dad, stepmom, sisters and their plus- ones came to our house to celebrate Christmas. Here is the gang: Charlie, Phil & Dave, Jessica, Rebecca, me, Dad, Haven, Gail and Maiya.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

One day I will write it all here.

Okay this picture has nothing to do with this post, but I think it's hilarious. Every morning Haven asks me to put Maiya in his crib (not in so many words) before I get him out. So, one morning I snapped a picture. They were both still waking up, I guess.

It is not 7 o'clock in the morning yet. This is not a time when I am typically awake. Haven and Maiya have been sleeping until at least 8 o'clock for a while now, so when Maiya woke up for the day at 5:30 this morning, it took me a while to accept it. She is in the bouncer now, playing gently with the dangling toys and smiling at me whenever I look at her. I think she's sleepy. I know I'm sleepy. I also know I'm spoiled to think that I should get to sleep until 8 o'clock in a house with two kids under two years old.

Throughout the week so many things run through my mind. They are topics I would like to further explore here. I want to sit and type them out until they're clear. However, I barely have time to think a complete sentance, much less publish a paragraph to my blog.

Anyway, here are two topics I hope to write more about soon. They're on my mind.

First of all, my experience in yoga. I've only gone for about a month. I knew I would love the stretching and balancing exercises, but I was curious about the spiritual aspect of it. I feel like God is showing me a lot through yoga. Nobody has to agree with me, but that's what I feel. Not to mention, the room is quiet, my kids are taken care of, so, it's very easy to pray and listen for God. When I am at peace, relaxed, tranquil, it is because of my hope in God. It's because I know Him and trust Him. It is only natural to me that that is where my mind would rest when the teacher suggests that we consider how we are doing spiritually.

Secondly, I want to write about parenting. I want to list what I know so far (maybe just so that I can get a laugh in the future). The more parents I meet, the more parenting styles I find. I, like any parent, want mine to be right, at least for my children. I do feel that I know some things, though. I somehow manage to feel semi-competent most days. I know where my resources are and I use them. I have clear goals (give my children a good self image, set them on the path to know Jesus, teach them responsibility, teach them to enjoy life, etc). I also learned a few things getting that degree that's gathering dust on our desk. So anyway, I want to write down my parenting philosophy, mostly to see how it changes over the years.

Well, more on all of that soon. I hope.

Three cheers for Maiya Adisen!

I am excited to announce that Maiya fell asleep last night in her crib without one single cry. I sang her a song, put her down and she drifted off to snooze land. Way to go, little sweetie. I'm so proud of you!

I'm also thrilled for myself.

The next few days will be spent working on a daily schedule that I hope will yield a well-rested little girl.

This is my life. It's a good one.