Month: January 2016

Damn, I put on pants

Posted on by Ariel

At 6:45 heard the phone ring, by the time I was done putting my baby down it was just ahead of 7pm. I returned the call to my cousin, who is also on maternity leave and lucky for me lives only a few blocks away. She wondered if I wanted to do something, ‘I had plans but they were cancelled, and I can’t help but think – Damn I put on pants. Do you want to do something?’ It’s funny because I had already planned my night, and I was looking to catching up on the pvr. But she had put on pants.

I don’t hesitate to agree to go out. As soon as I agree I’m excited. I am quick to mention that I’m in sweat pants, that I will be in sweats if that’s okay. Luckily our plans are pretty casual. But as soon as I hang up the phone I realize that maybe I’d like to get dressed up, in jeans. (So basically I define dressed up the way I used to dress up for Friday night dinners at summer camp). I quickly brush my hair, put on jeans and a shirt. I feel pretty good. Although I’m very skilled at spending an evening chilling on the couch, putting on non-elastic pants is as good a reason as any to go out.

On Sleep: The First 8 Months After Having a Baby

Posted on by Ariel

On Sleep: The First 8 Months After Having a Baby

There were times I stayed up dancing
I’ve dined at 24-hour hole-in-the-walls
I have memories of watching sunrises
And although I’d like to be in bed by 10pm, most nights I get lost
In TV, Internet, a book or think spirals
Time is an Olympic sprinter.
But once I’m sleeping
I don’t want to be woken.
I want snooze.
I want my dreams back.
I like sleep
Like poets
Like similes.
I am not alone
Which likely explains why, when people see my baby they often ask me,
“Does she sleep through the night?”

She typically sleeps in four hour increments.
Though, I am not upset
Because one day she will sleep
And I won’t get up to feed her
In the middle of the night
When my world becomes still.
When there is silence
And I’m not tempted to scroll through through my feed
Or feel badly that I’m not folding laundry.
I don’t wonder if I will ever properly fit into my pre-baby clothes,
I don’t have any regrets.
In the middle of the night
My only focus is
On this time
with you.
You become everything
And I am the same to you.
It’s humbling
And more than I could have dreamed.

It is difficult to put into words how much I miss a good night’s sleep,
But it’s harder to express how special I feel about our moment
Sitting in the pocket.
It is only a matter of time before I will get more than four hours of consecutive sleep
and if I am lucky
I will dream
Of the special quiet time
We used to share.

A Baby Parody of Adele’s “Hello”

Posted on by Ariel

What’s not to enjoy about Adele. Her latest viral video continues to reinforce that she’d not only be fun to hang out with, she is also the perfect road trip companion. Although my voice leaves much to be desired, both my girls like when I sing to them and to mix it up, I sometimes make song parodies.

Adele’s “Hello” A Baby Parody

Hello, it’s me
I can’t believe after these years that I am a mommy
I fall in love when we first meet.
Nobody told me how long it takes when you breastfeed
You like to poo while you eat
Hello, can you change me
You’ve pooed right up your back, it’s a real poonami
I open your diaper and you pee
Today I’ve done more laundry than I used to do in a week

It’s not even noon I’ve had a full day
Changed you a million times

Hello from the mother side
You may have called a thousand times
My phone’s on silent or I was changing a poo
Maybe feeding those are the main things that I do
Hello from the baby side
Close your eyes I know you are tired
You wake up at night take short naps in the day
‘Sleep like a baby’ something I will not say anymore

Hello, how are you
It’s so typical of you to puke after you burp I’m sorry
You look so cute
Did you think I could resist updating my Facebook profile pic

It’s no secret that all of us
Are head over heals

Hello from the mother side
You may have called a thousand times
My phone’s on silent or I was changing a poo
Maybe feeding those are the main things that I do
Hello from the baby side
Close your eyes I know you are tired
You wake up at night take short naps in the day
‘Sleep like a baby’ something I will not say anymore

Hello from the mother side
You may have called a thousand times
My phone’s on silent or I was changing a poo
Maybe feeding those are the main things that I do
Hello from the baby side
Close your eyes I know you are tired
You wake up at night take short naps in the day
‘Sleep like a baby’ something I will not say anymore

An open letter to Alyssa Milano

Posted on by Ariel

I decided to write this letter after watching this clip of Alyssa Milano on the Wendy Williams Show. (The conversation I’m referencing starts at 3:45min).

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An open letter to Alyssa Milano.

First, I want you to know I loved you in “Who’s the Boss?”.

Secondly, I am a mom of two and I just wanted to say thank you for your confident stance on public breastfeeding. For far too long many women have been feeding in bathroom stalls, believing that’s their best option. I can’t believe that this is still an issue that people discuss, as though there is a reason for debate. My three-and-a-half-year-old understands that breastfeeding is natural. Cultures all over the world regard breastfeeding as natural, as you pointed out, your body does too as it’s biology. If people are sexualizing breastfeeding that is their issue, and they can look elsewhere and choose to feed their children differently.

I ended up being to some extent thrust into public breastfeeding, though in a more discrete manner and for me it was a lifesaver. With my first child, I found myself creating a feeding schedule that tended to leave me feeding in the privacy of my own home or in the car, mostly keeping my breastfeeding to a private zone. With my second child however, my ability to control the feeding schedule was shall we say, out the window as soon as my husband returned to work (after a couple weeks home) when walked my older daughter to school. My newborn starting fussing and I realized it was hunger. I needed a solution and STAT. My newborn was already in a baby carrier and covered under a light muslin blanket and I thought perfect, I bet I can adjust myself and feed. And that’s how it was. I would feed on the go. I would walk, do errands, shop, take my toddler to the park or school and all the while I could feed under the privacy of my own muslin blanket. Feeding on the go made it easy to take care of my newborn and toddler when i was by myself. If I got disapproving looks from strangers I never noticed. Perhaps because I was too busy with two kids or maybe there was no public disapproval because it was all fairly discrete…but that is how I wanted it to be.

I just wanted to make it clear that although my choices are more discrete, I am an ally to those who choose to make a more open public feeding choice. I think if more people spoke up about their support, there might be less moms who feel judgement and shame. At this point I think it’s clear, Alyssa, you are the boss!

It sounds cliche to say your first time’s free…

Posted on by Ariel

 

… so I won’t because at Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic it’s always free returns, and shipping if you spend over $50.

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Once upon a time, before I had a kid, I seemed to find lots of time to go shopping. I would go to the mall, try things on, come home, try things on again and sometimes I would make returns…that was then.

Sometime after my first daughter was born I learned that Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic have lots of online sales, free shipping if you spend over $50, and items could be easily returned free of charge by mail, or could be returned to the store. (I’ve been known to order an extra item just to get free shipping). The convenience of being able to buy clothes for my daughter, husband and myself have been huge. (I still can’t fit into my pre second baby clothes).

A part of me feels like everybody has jumped onto the bandwagon of online shopping, but maybe you have not. If you were for some reason holding off, let this be the gateway to your addiction online shopping experience.

For those of you who love online shopping, I wonder what your favourite sites are as I’m always up for hearing about your recommendations.

Oh, and if you’ve made it this far… let me also suggest Ebates. You basically get a percentage back from the money you spend online shopping at tons of stores. And all you have to do is first login to their site, then click through to your shopping destination then use the site as your normally would. So far I’ve received back just over $100. I realize this is not a huge amount, but as my mom would say, ‘It’s better than a kick in the pants.’ (I may need a future post about the expressions my mom uses). I need get better at remembering to use Ebates as I do often forget.

Well, it’s time for me to make some tea, and purchase some clothes.

 

 

A Lesson from my Three and a Half Year Old

Posted on by Ariel

As I was tucking my three-and-a-half-year-old daughter into bed, she asks “Mommy, what was your favourite part of the day?” I quickly reflected on our day, which had been (by my maternity leave standards) pretty swell. From getting a great parking spot at the Doctor when I took my baby for a shot, to my older daughter being well behaved and even making a great accomplishment at something she’d been working on for quite a while. I easily decided to choose her accomplishment as my favourite part of the day.

I asked, “what was yours?” expecting her to echo my response. “I loved when you jumped up and down,” she declared. The backstory: nearly a year ago I was so proud of my daughter for first peeing on the toilet, that I literally I jumped up and down. Now when my daughter achieves a goal, she either requests that I jump up and down, or sometimes I genuinely jump with glee. I recommend it, the next time you are happy literally try jumping. For me, it’s up there with snorting when you laugh as far as having an honest, though not necessarily socially acceptable, physical response.

Hearing her response made my heart swell as it was a reminder of how much she values not only her accomplishments, but also the responses to which these are met. As I move forward, I will try to remember the importance of how I respond in general and in particular with my daughter not only in her moments of greatness but also when she demonstrates behaviours which are, shall we say, less than desirable. 

Carrot Ginger Orange Soup

Posted on by Ariel

My 3 year old daughter said, “Yum”, my husband took a second bowl, my 7 month old enjoyed having this mixed with barley cereal and I was pretty happy.

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I’ve decided to post a measuring stick for food made/posted and so far have come up with the square above. This soup hit nearly all four quadrants it’s only half filled for the fast section as the prep took only 5/10 minutes but it does need to simmer. (I used a dutch oven so I could put it in the oven and not think about it until the timer went). Alternatively, it could be made in a slow cooker. That said, a total win for me is fridge to table ready in 20 min or less. Also, I’m not one who usually eats soup and calls it a meal, but we were having leftovers so I made this to boost our veggie intake.

I should add that I seem to have purchased a bunch of carrots as everybody in my house loves them, at one point I purchased a 3lb bag for $1.50 and wanted to use them. Also clementines are in season and always in the house. The other items are all staples here. So overall, the soup was only a few dollars. It isn’t that my quest is to make food for as little money as possible, but I can appreciate a meal/recipe that is cost effective.

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp oil (I used coconut oil)
  • 5-6 carrots
  • 1 onion (chopped)
  • 1 tsp garlic minced/chopped
  • 1 tbsp minced/chopped ginger
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • Juice from 1 clementine (I don’t have a juicer so I just cut it in half and squeezed)
  • zest from one clementine (optional if you don’t have the required tool)
  • 5 cups of water / chicken soup stock
  • Salt and pepper to taste

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Steps

  1. Peel and chop onion and carrots (1 inch of so pieces)
  2. Heat up pot add oil, carrots and onion in the pot and saute for 5-10 minutes (I put everything in together)
  3. I used jarred minced garlic and ginger but if using fresh you will need to mince. Add garlic and ginger saute for 1-2 min more
  4. Add 5 cups or water/chicken stock. (I used half and half as that’s what I had in the fridge)
  5. Add parsley and salt
  6. Simmer for 40 min or so until carrots are soft, turn down heat
  7. Add zest and juice from a clementine
  8. Blend (I used a hand blender)
  9. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes / Common Sense is not common to all / Lessons I learned the hard way…

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After eating a few seeds the other day I held my clementine to the light to check for the all clear

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After spraying my kitchen a little bit I realized if I tilted my bowl the hand blender would be more submerged and not spray.

Hope you enjoy. Would love to hear any comments, changes etc.

 

Tummy Time (A Poem)

Posted on by Ariel

In the hospital after having my second child,
When my first daughter came to visit,
She kissed the new baby.
Then, she rubbed my tummy and asked,
‘Mommy, when is the other baby coming out?’

I had to explain that though my tummy looked like it could still have a baby inside
It had been a house, for the baby.
Now the baby was outside
And my tummy, the house, would get smaller,
But it would take a bit of time for the house to know
That there was no longer a baby inside.
It’s been 7 months, the house knows it has been abandoned.

Today, while playing with my daughter
She looks at my stomach and says,
‘Mommy, You have a big tummy.’
I am temporarily paralysed
I don’t quite recall when I fell out of favour with my chubby tummy
but it was some time in the 1980s.
Now, years later, in a time when I am primarily wearing elastic pants
My 3-year-old daughter effortlessly launches
What appears to be a live grenade.

My daughter does not know that models
And beauty are manufactured,
Usually with insecurities, disenchantment, and discontent.
Without missing a beat she says,
‘Mommy, your tummy is soft.’
She is correct. My stomach will never be voted, ‘best stomach,’
unlikely to be envied by the women in the change room or around the swimming pool.

She reaches out to touch and kiss my stomach
For a moment my insecurities run like cowards,
Leaving gratitude and confidence.
My daughter is right when she sees love,
When she sees health, when she sees comfort.
She says, ‘Mommy, your tummy had two babies,
I love your tummy’
And for the first time in as long as I can remember,
I love my tummy too.

Will I be the 8%?

Posted on by Ariel

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According to a Statistics Brain and Forbes only 8% of people achieve their New Year’s Resolutions.

While I have no recollection of ever breaking a resolution, the truth is I have no recollection of ever making one. I’m not sure if this was because of a fear of failure, some sort of rebellion, or maybe because I’ve regarded myself as a person who doesn’t need a magical date to start a project. That said, I’ve decided that in 2016, that I will ways and make not one, but three resolutions.

  1. My first, is easy enough as it was to make resolutions. (Yes, I realize this is kinda lame – almost like wishing for more wishes). So that’s one down and 2 more to go.
  2. Start a blog (so far so good)… but part two of this resolution is to create 50 posts in 2016.
  3. My third resolution is to do some sort of healthy physical activity for 5 minutes 3 times a week. I realize my health goal may seem somewhat like I’ve set a very low bar, but currently I am doing nothing. Although I’m the type to choose the stairs, and am often carrying my youngest around I’ve realized much to my disappointment that this is not exercise. I am aware that 15 minutes of working out will neither rid the baby weight nor allow me to run a mile, I’ll be happy to jog a block or two, and fit into my old non-elastic waist pants.

We all have to start somewhere, and for 2016, I’m starting here.