My Love

Do you know what my son did tonight? He helped me unload the dishwasher. For real! Bowl breaking and glass thrashing wasn't even a little part of the task. He actually picked every piece of tupperware and the lids off the cleaning rack and slammed them in the correct drawer. When he was finished, I clapped and cheered for him the way I do when I'm proud....no surprise there. I'm his biggest fan!

Normally, I praise him to encourage him, but this time I was really blown away. He surely knew how genuine my applause was, because he emptied out the drawer of tupperware and refilled it several times to get my wild reaction over and over again. And each time he completed the task, he was equally as happy as the first time. That's my boy!

I've been to the yoga studio a LOT these past couple weeks either to teach a class or take a class. When my parents were in town last week, I think I was there every single day for one reason or another. They even came with Max and me to family yoga! Now that they're gone, we're back to the ho-hum regular, after a busy week with the grandparents.

I literally squeezed in every single thing I needed to do while my parents were here. Their visit began with an abrupt visit to the dentist for me. I don't think we even went home after I picked them up from LAX and I got some chipped teeth repaired. Yes, that was the kind of week it was. They did a lot of babysitting and I did a lot of everything else under the sun that needed and wanted to be done. Thanks mom and dad!

More random news on the home front:

Max has a big toe nail that is about to fall off. It is grossing me out and making me cringe. I don't think I've ever lost a toe nail before and I feel so bad for him. He constantly picks and pulls at it if his shoes aren't on, so he's basically living in his pedipeds these days. Yowzers!

Today a mom said to me, "Isn't it nice to go to work and get a break from him!" And I just didn't relate to that comment very well. Yes, I loooove teaching yoga. It is a perfect job for me in many ways, but I always miss Max when I leave him. It's funny because even though I have two part time jobs, I still sort of consider myself a stay at home mom. Maybe if I made enough money to pay my bills I would consider myself employed....hahaha! Well, I'm actually getting closer and closer to that every month!

Max is still obsessed with his lovey. Today someone said, "Is that his boom boom?" And I smiled and said "Yes!" Because whether you call it his puppy, blankie, or as we call it, his lovey, it has been his favorite comfort item since he was born. We always put it with him in the bassinet when he was sleeping without me and now he drags it around everywhere he goes like Linus on Charlie Brown. I've tried to replace it with a bunny, a teddy bear, and even a ridiculously soft hippo, but no other object compares.

This peaceful sight is what you see when you look up lovey in the dictionary. Goodnight with love....xoxo

Happy Monday Super Mommy!

June gloom has passed and summer is in full swing. Seems appropriate that I took Max on a shopping spree today. A few hot ticket items on his "fun in the sun" list were a kiddie pool, extra large gardening tools, and a bjorn potty seat.

That list pretty well sums up what's going on around here. It's gorgeous outside and Max is ecstatic about being in the water, so we are putting a little pool on the rooftop deck. I can't think of a better way for Max and his friends to spend some time together.

The gardening tools are all the rage because they are as big as his body. I've had to take all heavy toys away from him because this kid has an arm. "Ow!" He'll knock you out with a wooden spoon or a pepper shaker, and the new toys I just got him are light and won't damage me OR the house. Since Max banged a dent into the bamboo wood floor, I'm on toy patrol.

And then the potty chair is something I'm convinced he's ready for. I've heard that babies who wear cloth diapers are easier to potty train because they can feel the wetness when they tinkle. Also, Max jumps in the shower with me and laughs and laughs as he pees. It makes me think he might know what he's doing. I can't wait to see his reaction when I sit him on his new potty chair the next time I catch him making his number-two-potty-face.

Usually I'm bragging about how proud I am of my baby, but today I feel like giving myself a big pat on the back.

First of all, Max slept TERRIBLY last week. He cut his top two fang teeth and was up all the time at all hours of night like clockwork. Poor baby....I hate teeth! And lucky us, he cuts them two and three at a time.

At one point, I got out of bed to pat him on the back or rub his belly, and I was just too darn tired to stand there leaning over the side of his bed rail. So I repeated something that I had only done once before, and I crawled into the crib to snuggle with him.

Now, I know that most moms would have just brought their baby in the bed with them. But I was too tired to think of something so clever or intelligent.

At some point between midnight and the middle of the night, we fell asleep spooning in his miniature manger. Who knows how long I was passed out in there for, because when I woke up in the morning, there was a beautiful baby in my arms and a gnarly crick in my neck. We'll see if I can stick with my big girl bed this week....ahahaaa!

Last Monday, I took Max to a friend's house to babysit her 19-month-old son, Jackson for about 6 hours. We had so much fun and I think that's what really made me feel like supermom. Those boys were running around going crazy, and I whisked them off to the park in the nick of time before they destroyed the house. It was absolutely delightful to see the way they were feeding off each other's endless energy. It was also an enormous challenge to keep up with the both of them!

Of course I adored every minute of it. Now that I'm a mom, it's my mission in life to give love to babies, toddlers, children, adult children, and anyone that was ever a baby once in their life. Since I'm oozing all this love and compassion for kids, it is perfect for me to be able to share that with another munchkin. Babysitting is the perfect opportunity for me to gush all over the babies and help out some other mommies.

The only thing that I find to be extremely difficult about being out in public with two kids, is how the heck you are supposed to go to the bathroom while "taking care" of the bunchkins??? It always amazes me that moms are able to go to relieve themselves in the toilet when they need to. I mean, forget privacy. Those days are long gone, but to use the restroom is an obstacle that confuses me to pieces.

See, I didn't want to bring the boys into the bathroom because it was just gross in there. Nasty park potty. Ugh, I don't even want their cute little shoes to touch a public bathroom. Maybe I'll get over this at some point, but what if they decide to touch something, or for goodness' sake sit down in there. Gross! And you can't really ask a stranger to watch them for a minute when you're babysitting for someone else. Maybe if it's a park you go to on a regular basis, but I was in a different park in Studio City where I didn't know anyone.

And then there's me (remember her?) and the fact that I don't have a minute to spare or I will pee in my pants. So you wanna' know what I do?... (Normal? I think not.) I sprint into the bathroom. I prop the door open (you know, the main entrance to the bathroom so that you can see everyone and they can all see you), run into the stall, and pop a squat over the toilet with that door open. That method worked brilliantly and I can't imagine anything better. (Maybe? That's not public indecency is it?) Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go!

Every Wednesday I teach my family yoga class. I loooove my new job. It is EXACTLY what I want to do with my time on hump day. It is my pleasure and an honor to work with parents and children together. Max and the other kiddos wear themselves out playing with the yoga blocks while the parents are literally "in" happy baby. This is my idea of a win, win situation!

The past two weeks, Max has blessed me with the sweetest gifts a mother could possibly receive. When I'm teaching and demonstrating poses in the middle of yoga class, he will come over and randomly give me kisses. He'll be on the other side of the room playing, and run over to give me a reassuring smooch while I'm in updog. It's as if he's saying, "Mom, you're doing a great job. Keep up the good work!"

This is the most challenging and draining job I've ever had...In a good way! Multitasking as a mommy and a yoga teacher is a blast! My main concern is making sure Max is finished napping before we leave the house at 3pm, which means we can't run behind in the mornings. We have to be en pointe with waking up, breakfast, lunch, and nap, so we have a happy and upbeat toddler at 4pm. It is a huge blessing to be able to take my baby to work with me, and so far the feedback has been fabulous.

At this point, I think we have a nice, solid schedule down that works for all of us. He is only napping once a day, and as long as he goes down for that nap by 1pm, we are set. Fortunately, I am always able to get him down for a nap, even if he is not rubbing his eyes and yawning by 1pm. All I have to do is breast feed him in a dark, silent room until he falls asleep. Things like that may sound easy, but it does take honest effort....especially after a bout of teething that knocks you off your schedule.

And then on the weekends I have been working for Kitchenaid. I feel so resourceful, because I have found a way to make the amount I pay the babysitter a little cheaper. I just have her meet us at the mall instead of meeting at my house. That way she can play with Max at the indoor playground next to Macy's, and I don't have to pay her for my travel time driving to/from work. And then if Max gets sleepy and needs milk I can easily step out and tend to him.

We've also made time to do tons of other social activities. We had a great time at Giselle's princess birthday party on Saturday! It was Max's first time to play in a bounce house and he thought it was the greatest thing that had ever happened in the whole entire world.


I don't know how moms do it. Life becomes a perfectly synchronized orchestra of sorts. And it works! I'm taking a moment to pat myself on the back for making mommy magic happen every single day of my life! Woohoo!

Selflessness and strengh are only a couple qualities of the life of a mother.....Tapping into those now!

Happy Monday you Super Mommy You!!!

He's a Crawler....Shockaller

What a sport! He is the best little baby and couldn't be any cuter if he tried. It's a good thing that I hang out with a lot of other gushing mommies so I don't have to make the general public sick with my never ending doting remarks. I could talk about this sweet boy 24/7.

Max is doing so much these days. He crawls from one end of the house to the other. We had to start baby proofing when he was 7 months old. Once he started chasing the cat around the house, I knew we had reached the "getting into everything" stage. After Max dove into Boogars' cat food bowl, I told Marc that he has to keep his eye on the baby at all times because has gone mobile.

Several days later after I had explained this bit of information to Marc, I came home from yoga to find Marc asleep on the couch. Of course I thought it was a joke that Marc was napping before midnight because he always goes to bed so late. I asked him "where's Max" and he threw a quick glance toward his feet and said "right there". Once again I thought he was joking or trying to fool me because there was no baby by his feet. In response to my confused expression, he jumped up and started walking in circles and looking around the couch as if he had misplaced the baby....I thought that he was possibly playing a joke on me and Max was sleeping soundly in his crib. I really didn't know what to think about Marc's state of mind until I saw his jaw drop as he looked at his son in the hallway climbing up onto the laundry detergent.

Having a baby has caused me to relive many moments of my own childhood and this stirred up a huge memory. I vividly recalled how serious an incident we had in our home when one of my brothers drank lime away and was sent to the hospital. It was really scary to think back about my brother and a wake up call to Marc. You can't be asleep and watching your baby at the same time.....duh!

Fortunately nothing bad happened and now it is fun to watch little diaper butt scooting around the house. I don't mind that he is all over the place because he is usually having a blast with the cat or his toys. It took him so long to show interest in the cat and now he is all about their brotherly love.

Unfortunately for Max, Boogars is not so keen on having clumps of hair pulled out and has resorted to batting his paw a few times. Ahahahaha....I am still laughing over that one. Boogars is all bark and no bite and trying to show Max that he needs to keep his distance. They are friendly for the most part, but as Max continues to get stronger I think Boogars will keep running away faster and faster.

Max is jabbering away these days and has lots to say. He says quite a few consonants in all the babbling and still only has the two words mama and dada. He said mama for the first time at 6 months old and would repeat it over and over as one long mamamamamama. Then after about a month of that he began dadadadada. Now for the first time this week he is trying to imitate many other words on a regular basis. I looooove it when he does this. It's not too often, but we have our rituals that involve saying and doing the same things.

For instance, this morning when I picked him up out of his crib, I said the usual "good morning". And he just smiled and cooed and made a good morning sound that imitated the inflection of my voice. It was so sweet. And other things I tell him such as "I love you" have been mimicked as well as the word kitty. These words aren't coming out terribly clear and if it weren't in response to what I had just said, I'm sure they wouldn't be as easily understood. With a little more practice I'm sure he will be saying lots more soon.


I'm reading the most fabulous book. Whaaaa----you say? Read? Gosh, I haven't had time to do something like that since Max was born. If I have a free minute, I'm usually trying to squeeze in a nap or a quick workout or a post on my blog. These are all things that I would like to do every single day, but there's absolutely no way. It's always a sacrifice to do one thing instead of another.

But alas, I am reading a book! Even if it is only a few pages a day, I am reading. My first book back is "The Continuum Concept" by Jean Liedloff. Wow, it is amazing and a must read for all parents. I'm on Chapter 3 entitled "The Beginning of Life" and am fascinated by the assessment of a baby's needs.

When a baby is born, they have strict requirements about what they need. We have learned that he cannot hope that if he is uncomfortable now, that he will be comfortable later. Either things are right or not right. He cannot feel that "mother will be right back" when she leaves him. If a baby is left to cry for too long and the response it is meant to elicit does not come, that feeling gives way to utter bleakness without time or hope. That breaks my heart to think of a screaming, crying baby left all alone to suffer!!!

It does make sense to me that we have these maternal instincts to respond to our baby's cries, and it bewilders me that there are people who bring another life into the world and ignore their cries for help. It says that if you can't be received as a baby, that you may have trouble bonding and forming attachments. The psychotherapist that recommended this book to me simply stated that if I ever have any doubts about my role as an attachment parent, to read this book and keep up the good work.

I wish I could stay up all night and read this whole entire book. But there is no way I would be a good mommy tomorrow without any sleep. Funny how parenting doesn't allow for a day off and breast feeding gives about a 6 hour break at the most. I love my full time job!

Speaking of jobs, I have some part time work coming up for the holidays. I'll be working in short 4 hour little incriments on the weekends for Kitchen Aid and I'm looking forward to the small amount of responsibility. Marc's mom does this same job in Florida and hooked me up with the little side gig. Sounds manageable enough for a start back to earning an income!

I'm missing the entertainment industry, but not enough to go back to it any time soon. Those hours are tough to keep up with for anyone, but for a new mom....forget about it. I would definitely have a meltdown! I don't know if I could keep up with breast feeding and would feel horrible about using formula. And not to mention, we still get up once in the night and I would be exhausted all the time. No thank you!

It would be so sad to miss out on special moments and huge milestones if I were working full time. I am so grateful to be at home with my boy. I love being with him and moments like bathtime are the best. His little butt is so cute as he tries to crawl out of his froggie bathtub. I treasure every moment with all my boys!!!

Goodnight!