Fun with puke

Brady and I took a lovely trip to Pittsburgh to visit my family last weekend. We stayed with my mom who was awesome and got up with Brady every morning and let me sleep! We went to the Carnegie Science Center with my sister and her boyfriend and Brady had an awesome time playing in the water area. We even had brunch with all of my family and a bunch of our friends. It was a very good trip overall.

We were on our way to the airport on Monday morning when it happened. Thankfully I was driving and my mother was sitting in the back with Brady. The two of them were dancing to the radio when I heard “blech” and then my mom, “um, don’t get upset, but he just threw up.”

So of course I got very upset and got tears in my eyes and then he threw up some more. Once he stopped, my mother got a cloth and started  cleaning him up which upset him far more than the actual vomiting did. She did her best, but there was still puke ALL OVER his coat. The only coat we had with us.

So we got to  the airport and I headed straight to the bathroom where I opened the suitcase to find him a new outfit. By this time I also had puke all over my coat and we both smelled like nasty banana vomit. So I changed Brady and then went to work on the coats so that they wouldn’t reek on the plane.

As I was trying to wipe off the coats, Brady was running around the bathroom like a madman and trying to unpack the suitcase. I was pleading with him to please calm down and let me finish and everytime I caught him and tried to hold him or put him in the stroller he screamed his head off. Other women in the bathroom were looking at me like, “why is she yelling at that cute little boy?” and talking to Brady in cute little voices as I tried in vain to clean or contain him.

I'll spare you any puke pics and instead give you "Brady at the Science Center"

It was a fun experience. Eventually we got on the plane, stashed our stinky coats in the overhead and Brady passed out on my lap. I spent the flight munching my snacks and watching America’s Best Dance Crew (thank you JetBlue). When we arrived at JFK, my mother-in-law was waiting for us and had parked close enough to the door that we never had to put on the offensive coats again.

I feel like a real mother now. I have dealt with throwup. Although, I do think it’s funny that my mother ended up cleaning up my kid’s first puke. Doesn’t quite seem fair, does it?

I like the inbetween

I’ve been attempting to do freelance work since I officially resigned from my former position over a year ago. It’s been ok, but until recently I never took on a whole project, only bits and pieces where I could get them.

In September I got an email from someone I used to work for asking me to pick up a project for him. It was really perfect for me since I had worked on the previous edition of the book and get along really well with the whole book team. So I agreed. After some delays the work finally started up in mid-January and it’s been going really well.

I quickly realized that I would never be able to do it all from home. Even with my mother-in-law there it’s hard to get much done since Brady doesn’t realize I’m working and can’t play with him. Plus I don’t have a good printer, no copier, no fax machine, etc. So I’ve been going into the office one day a week…and I LOVE it!

I get to get out of the apartment, ride on the subway, see my friends, get work done – real work done, and basically become a part of non-baby civilization for one day. I only go in from about 11-3:30 and yet it’s more than enough time. It reminds that I would’t want to be working fulltime again and yet fulfills all those things I was missing. All this and I only have to be away from my little man for 4.5 hours. It’s honestly ideal.

And to sweeten the deal, I’m making us some extra money. I’m working about 6 hours a week which seems like nothing, but it does make a difference. It amazes me that such a small change – just 6 hours a week is making such a huge difference in my life. This project runs through May and I’ve already got some more work lined up. Maybe I’ll go crazy and pick up another in-office day, who knows?

I missed you Mommy! (He's hugging my leg, in case you can't tell)

One of the benefits that I really didn’t expect was missing Brady. I know that sounds odd, but when you spend basically 24-7 with a person – even  if you grew that person in your  own body – you start to get tired of them. My few hours away from Brady make me appreciate those that I have with him even more and I just adore seeing his smiling face running toward me when I come in the door!

The simple things

Mmmmmmmm

While the weather was warmer this weekend, last week was still very cold. I was craving some comfort food, so I made Brady and I one of my childhood faves – grilled cheese and tomato soup. And he loved them both. Yum!

It was such a nice day, sharing yummy food with my yummy little boy (and not watching tv). As he gets older, I find that there’s a lot more to do together during the day.  Rather than trying to find ways to constantly entertain him, he finds ways to entertain me. If he does something that makes me laugh, he’ll repeat it endlessly until he gets tired.

Space Dog and I are enjoying our grilled cheese.

Plus he plays by himself as well, which allows me  some time to do things like make a grilled cheese sandwich or wash the dishes up afterward. I can’t wait for all the fun we’ll have once the weather warms up!

Bad Mommy!

Ok, so I’m going to fess up – I let my kid watch television.And yes, he is one year old, the most evil time to let him watch. And, yes, I also watch TV around him.

It started innocently enough. I watch a little news while I’m eating breakfast and then the first half of Regis and Kelly. For some unknown reason I LOVE Regis and Kelly. It’s the only crap television from the newborn days (when I argued with my husband that Tyra really was a good show and that I just had to have Maury tell me who the baby daddy is) that I’ve held onto. They have a great rapport and Kelly seems almost like a normal person who actually likes spending time with her kids. I don’t usually watch the guest segments, just their conversation at the beginning.

Anyway, so it started with that and Brady watching his Signing Times video once a day. But then I realized that he would pay attention for a little bit to other kids shows. He loves Yo Gabba Gabba and he sort of likes Go Diego Go and Ni Hao Kai Lan.

Please forgive me, but putting on one of those things for  a bit allows me to actually prepare dinner before the husband comes home and maybe get on facebook for a little bit. The other day I did just that. I put on Kai Lan and Brady watched as I put chicken in the oven and read up on my blogs. Of course I read this and then went out to the living room to see him staring up at the screen, the colors washing over his baby face. I stood there shocked at how horrible a mother I had become. Then I thought about it for a minute.

But I like the cartoons, Mommy.

I have nothing against that blogger or what she posted. Everyone parents differently. But still, I don’t feel bad. We all know that we’re not supposed to let one-year-olds watch TV and that Baby Einstein rots their brains and that according to all the research my kid is now doomed to become some kind of video gamed addicted robot as a teen. But to me, putting dinner on the table a few nights a week and getting 10 minutes  to myself is not evil. I highly doubt that Brady is going to be hindered in life because of a half hour of cartoons a day.

Brady and I spend the majority of the day playing together, learning, exploring the city, meeting new people, and just hanging out. I think that means way more than the rest of it. And I would not be able to be the mommy that I am most of the day, without my Kai Lan or Yo Gabba Gabba breaks.

So all those mommies who’ve looked at me with a crooked eye and asked “don’t you try to keep him away from tv?” to which I replied, “of course.” I lied and I don’t feel bad about it at all.

Don’t hate me because I lost it

In reading ( far too many) mommy/parent blogs and celebrity websites, I have come across a phenomena. The “I hate her cause she lost her baby weight” phenomena. It never fails that when a photo is posted of a celeb mom post-baby and she is inevitably looking slim and trim, women flock to the post to comment on how unfair it is and how she has advantages that regular women don’t have, and how no real woman could bounce back like that. Of course there are always women who post that they look great or that they did it too as well.

Now, I agree that most of these celebs do have advantages that we regular women do not have, ie. baby nurses, nannies, trainers, chefs, etc. But this does not mean that that is the only reason they lost the weight or that normal women can’t. I mean, these women have obviously been genetically blessed or we wouldn’t be shelling out $2.99 week after week to look at pictures of them in US Weekly.

I have a secret – I am not a celebrity and yet I lost all my baby weight, within 2 months of giving birth, without working out, AND I went on to lose another 11-13 lbs. Some of this must be genetics. I didn’t keep a belly right after birth either. The other women on the ward were walking around still looking pregnant and I had a little bit of a pooch. Some of this I attribute to breastfeeding. Brady was a HUGE eater and I could never keep up with the calories going out to him. And some of it was probably from muscle loss because I lifted a few times a week before I got pregnant. But Brady barely nurses these days and I’m back in the gym on a semi-regular basis and I haven’t ballooned up yet.

I think a lot of it is because I quit my job. Instead of sitting at my desk all day staring at the computer I now spend a lot of time walking the neighborhood pushing a stroller, carrying around a 24lb person, chasing after a fast little person, and picking up toys.

Here Mommy, I'll help you stay skinny.

But everytime I read the comments I think, “wow, wouldn’t they hate me?” And you know what? It makes me smile. I’ve had some problems with being a mom and quitting my job and living so far from my family, and I hold onto the skinny new me as a bright shining star. I relish fitting into size 6 jeans and throwing out all my pre-baby clothes. I just hope I can keep it up. Maybe I should go peruse craigslist for jogging strollers again…