2015

New Year's Eve always makes me feel so nervous, like there is an unbelievable pressure to make the coming year the best one you've ever lived. This is the year we have to win Oscars and Pulitzers and Nobel Peace Prizes. Plural. The only year I didn't feel this way was the end of 2012 and I was (supposedly, but he was 9 days late) a week away from delivering Small Human. There was no pressure because I knew exactly what I had in store for me for 2013 and to some extent, 2014.

2015 seems heavier. First, 15 is one of my lucky numbers so I have high expectations, and second I had wanted to expand our family this year though our first attempt didn't go as planned. Heavy. However, no matter what way you spin it, it's a new beginning and those are always welcome blessings.

We decided to start Small Human's 2015 with a fresh new haircut! He is two and a half weeks away from turning two and still barely has enough hair to cover his cute little noggin. He was starting to look like Beetlejuice in the back so we had it trimmed, and it doesn't look too different just more polished. He had a great time at the hair salon though, and really didn't want to leave! The back is shorter but we kept his "bangs" aka comb over.

Happy New Year friends and family! May 2015 bring you heaps of awesome! xoxo See you on the other side.

Toddler Bed Chronicles: Part Two

A couple posts back I told you all about the exciting new toddler bed and the high jinks Small Human gets up to when waking up in the morning. Well, this weekend's story takes the cake and I don't think anything can compare to it so far.

We didn't put the baby gate up on his door on Saturday night, a mistake we will never repeat. At first I awoke to a baby turning on the Xbox and playing with the controller. He even managed to load a game, which I guess shouldn't be surprising since his daddy makes and plays video games. While drifting in and out of consciousness, I thought I heard him open up the Skype app and call somebody. (We later found out that he had in fact, called his Nonna and Papa!)

The next part though, I didn't wake up for originally, Brendan did. He shot out of bed and ran to the kitchen because he heard the microwave turn on. This is when the shocked exclaiming woke me up. In our kitchen was our son, with the refrigerator door wide open, various items from inside the fridge strewn across the kitchen floor, which happened to be covered in egg yolks and goopy egg whites. Over half a carton of eggs, gone.

Naturally we freaked out and Small Human got sent to his room where he sulked for awhile. The weirdest thing was that there were no egg shells anywhere. You know where they were? In the garbage. He actually attempted to clean up after himself! All of this transpired at 6:45am. Maybe he was trying to make us breakfast, cause the bacon was out too.

My life is most certainly 100% more exciting and lively than it was pre-baby. No contest.

Happy last Monday of 2014! xoxo

Merry Christmas!

Small Human and I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We spent Christmas Eve morning in downtown Seattle looking at the big Christmas trees everywhere, and all the pretty lights and cool Christmas teddy bears! We were going to see the gingerbread city of Seattle but I think everyone and their mother had the same idea as us, so the line was 2 hours long! Then we were going to get on the Carousel but that line was epic too, so we settled on mini donuts and running around like lunatics until nap time.

Be safe everybody, and don't forget to love and cherish the ones you love! No presents necessary.

xoxo Lilibeth and Small Human

Courtesy of his Auntie Natalie :)

Toddler Bed Chronicles

We transitioned Small Human to a toddler bed two weeks ago. We hadn't planned on even thinking about a toddler bed until he was at least two and a half, but he kept climbing out of his crib every morning. He of course thinks it's the best arrangement of life, but his dad and I would have to disagree with him. From this we have learned that our almost two year old is quite tall and can reach everything, which is bad for someone who doesn't quite understand right from wrong yet, and that he enjoys waking us up.

Here are a few of the ways in which we have been awoken by Small Human now that he is in a toddler bed:

• To someone saying, "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy" and then booped on the nose. Sometimes with a finger, sometimes with an iPhone, which hurts a lot.

• To someone closing our bedroom door and knocking like a solicitor that won't go away.

• Or to, "Daddy, daddy, dad, dad, dada, da-da-da-da-daddy, dad, dad".

• Or thinking I'm getting kisses but am really getting my face wiped with snot like I was a "shishue" (tissue).

The best one to date has been waking up to a rustling sound in the hallway near the kitchen, kinda like a raccoon had gotten in the house. Only it wasn't a raccoon it was our son, at 6 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday, rifling through the garbage and spilling our take-out sushi detritus all over the hall carpet, soy sauce and all. 6 o'clock in the morning and old sushi. OMG

The trade off is that we don't have to worry about Small Human breaking his neck climbing out of his crib every morning, so it's clearly worth it, it's just something we need to get used to. So now we put the baby gate on his door and let him wake us from down the hall in the safety of his bedroom. So far, so good.

Reluctantly letting me take his photo

Ugh Sick

Le Small Human has had a cold since Monday, and as of yesterday I am sick too. I'm feeling a little cloudy in the brains department but not deathly ill. It still royally sucks though. There has been a lot of tv watching, couch snuggles, and we've gone through two boxes of tissues and a whole pack of grape Boogie Wipes so far.

The Little is doing much better today, but I am still battling. It's pretty cute cause he keeps dancing for me and just being a ham. Even better though, is that right now he is quietly sitting on the couch reading by himself, with a bottle of water and bopping his head to some music. THIS NEVER HAPPENS, I need it so badly, thank you!

But then your life gets even better because a friend drops by to bring you latkes. Day. Made. Excuse me while I do my latke dance and stuff my face. Happy Thursday!

Thank you Shira & Aziza!

Dr. Small Human and Mr. Hyde

My son has two different personalities. There's my sweet, rambunctious and happy boy during the week, and the whiny, mommy-hating boy on the weekends. I can't begin to tell you how frustrating this is for me. On the weekends, Small Human has his Daddy, so mommy automatically becomes chopped liver. Daddy is cooler, can reach higher things, and is far more rare than hanging out with that Momie lady again.

Not only does my son hate me on the weekends, but he turns into a whiner. If you have children, you know that whining is probably the most soul sucking, awful, energy draining thing your child can do to you. We don't understand it, but we just wish it would stop. Telling him to stop doesn't work; placating him doesn't work; and distracting him kinda works for a bit, unless he's hellbent on whining some more. This of course, confuses my husband. Where is the funny boy he reads about in all the emails I send him while he's at work? Where's the cute son who poses for Momie's iPhone photo shoots?

During the week we have a bit of a routine, and I think that might be part of the problem over the weekends. Monday to Friday he's usually a pretty regular toddler. He's happy, curious, and energetic, he gets cranky when he's tired or hungry. It's pretty easy really. We go on outings and play dates, we go for walks, we run errands, and there is very little whining going on. The best is when I get hugs and kisses, or when he pretends to eat my cheeks while we read (because I do that to him!).

Obviously, there are times when he misbehaves or deliberately refuses to listen to me, but that's a lot like every work environment really. You deal with it and you move on. The big difference is that it really hurts my feelings when it's my son! We're best friends during the week and frenemies on the weekends. This is certainly something nobody warned me about. It's a good thing there's a lot of laundry, vacuuming, organizing and wrapping of presents to do to really dwell on it too much.

Happy Monday!

My hilarious boy, inspecting his sippy cup for leaks cause of the mess he left on the hall bench.

Sunday Thoughts

I am very thankful for all the beautiful, positive people in my life who always help to pick me back up when I'm feeling low. Just because life feels hard, it doesn't mean life is bad. At least I get to wake up for another day and see my healthy son learn a little more and grow up a little more. I get to squeeze him and kiss him, and play with him. I have the most wonderful friends a girl could ask for, and a family who loves me more than I deserve.

Life happens on its own terms, and while some people like to do their best to hurry it along or fit it into a neat little box, it doesn't always work that way. I've never been a Polyanna Sunshine, I've always leaned a bit more towards Debbie Downer, but I do my best to recognize the truly amazing things I have been blessed with.

I hate that it's so easy for me to see all the ways my life isn't perfect, but so difficult for me to see the ways in which it is actually a pretty wonderful life. I'm working on it. Please always remember that no matter how perfect other people's lives seem, we all have our struggles. Just focus on the good in your own life, and try to spread the joy.

Happy Sunday, beautiful people.

The Christmas Cookie Project

I lucked out in the mommy friend department because they are the kind of people who have fun ideas and most importantly, execution of ideas, for the kids. Today was a Christmas cookie decorating play date that I think was a total success. We thought for sure that the toddlers wouldn't get it, but get it they did! Granted there were sprinkles and crumbs all over the house but that's what vacuums are for.

Everyone was on a major sugar high and it was a fun, adorable time. I found melted sugar crystals stuck to my ankle just now, and a son who refuses to nap, but it's all in the name of Christmas cheer. Thanks friends for a fun morning, even though I was kinda tired and cranky. (Sorry!)

Weird Ass Things My Toddler Makes Me Do

I think I might know what it's like to be a rock star's assistant. Toddlers are notorious for being picky, crazy people and I know now that all the stories are true. Here are just a few things Small Human needs in order to be happy:

• His chicken nuggets taste better as leftovers, but he needs them to be heated in the microwave one at a time. If you give him four or even two at once, he won't eat them all because they won't be the temperature he likes them to be at.

• If he feels like his hands are dirty, he won't stop shrieking at you until you wipe them or wash them, even if it's imaginary dirt that only he sees.

• He likes toast with peanut butter but will only eat it if it's sliced into strips with very minimal crust. It's also fancy organic toast with equally fancy seeds.

• He won't eat the part of the bread that he has held with his fingers. That is reserved for throwing across the room or feeding to daddy (not mommy).

• When he asks for something, that doesn't mean that is what he wants. That would be too easy. ie. "Cheese! Cheese! Cheese! Cheese!" (gives him cheese) "Noooooo blechhhh."

• He makes me kiss an owie until he deems it all better (this one is pretty adorable).

• When we leave the house he needs at least one or two things from the house to bring with him. Sometimes it's something handy like a hat of his choosing, other times it's a spatula, or very breakable water glass, or an unbelievably enormous toy that I have to negotiate with him to leave at home.  It always ends up tossed aside for something outside anyway.

• He makes me peel oranges for him but only so he can watch. He gags if I try to give him a piece.

Toddlers are so weird. These are just the things that I can recall off the top of my head, but there are a few strange things I've missed for sure. If you don't want to be a parent, don't because I wanted it more than anything and I just barely have the patience to get through a day. There's a lot of frustration, a lot of love, a lot of anger, a lot of laughter, but above all you need patience. You really need to take a step back sometimes and oh, I don't know, maybe write a blog post about the cute little human you created and are raising. I find that really helps me not see him as a crazy, eccentric coworker who likes to whine, throw things and writhe on the floor when he's tired or doesn't get his way. Oh man, motherhood.

Santa Claus Village

Last year by happenstance, we ended up seeing the kitschy Space Needle Santa Claus for Small Human's first Santa photo, and what with it being our little Seattleite's first Christmas it seemed fitting. This year we went with a more classic Santa. One of our pretty outdoor malls here features a little Santa house and a Santa that has a real beard! (Woah) So a few of us mama friends trucked our toddlers over to meet him and get a picture with the famous big guy in red.

Small Human wasn't into Santa at all. He definitely did better than I ever did, but he refused to be distracted or made to smile, and one thing was for certain: He wasn't about to let go of Momie or his Goldfish crackers. So here we are together in his second Santa photo of life. Look at how terrified he looks! After this though, while I chose a photo and paid for it, he and Santa played with cars on the floor and he liked that very much. I gotta say that I really appreciate how this Santa seemed to genuinely like children.

For you Seattle mamas, The U-Village Santa was $38.95 plus tax for one digital high resolution file. There are printed photo options available as well.

Look mommy & daddy, my first picture with Santa! (only took 35 years) 

Saturday Night

On Saturday night, we were actually that sickeningly adorable family who did stuff like play with snow and slip around on ice; hung out at the toy store to play; got takeout on a freezing cold winter night; had dinner together and watched Home Alone; made fudge and had tickle fights and read books until the baby fell asleep. That actually happened. No one was crabby or angry, there was no whining, I didn't ruin the fudge, and then I had some hot apple cider and read a book. I guess sometimes great things do happen, and I'm glad I was able to recognize it and enjoy it.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and stayed warm and toasty and happy too. I will leave you now with a delicious fudge recipe:

2 cups of semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup of milk chocolate chips
(or you can use 3 cups of semi sweet chips)
1 14oz can of sweet condensed milk
1/4 cup of softened butter
1/4 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of vanilla

Combine the chocolate chips, condensed milk and butter. Microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute. (don't overheat it or it will be grainy!) Stir. Add the sea salt and vanilla. Pour into an 8" pan lined with foil. Chill and set in the fridge for as long as you can hold out, or about 1.5 hours. Cut into squares and enjoy!

I added coloured sprinkles to mine :)