Mommy's Return to.....

it's Sunday afternoon and Muffin is sleeping, I've not yet had my standard bowl of high fiber Joe's O's but I have had 1/2 cup of coffee and the rest of an Alaskan Amber left over from last night. I could continue pretending that this Mom doesn't drink..... but why? before my pregnancy I was a devout member of "The Single Malt Society of America" (not a real club) and always being ever careful about the potential of becoming pregnant (after being careless if you know what I mean) - I would seriously slow down and/or stop drinking the last couple of weeks of my cycle to insure the safety of any potential babies on board. But during the "safe 2 weeks, I have been known to relieve the "Glen's" of plenty of their finest swill. After being alcohol free for 9 months plus the 6 months after Muffin was born, because of breastfeeding, I stepped carefully back into the world of "having a drink" nothing near my pre-pregnancy consumption levels, but I will throw back a beer here and there. That brings me to the reason I enjoy most of my sneak-a-drink sessions pre-lunch, you see Muffin only breast feeds at night these days and that leaves mama with a clear "don't poison your baby thru breast milk intoxication" window of at least 6 hours. I know it's only 1 beer but it's truly amazing the amount of guilt that can be amassed for sipping alcohol - even the tiniest amount when you're a "MOM"

Well I've been off of the blogging horse again, it seems that sometimes I allow myself to get bogged down in the routine and ritual round robbin known as a "normal" Mommy day.
In the last few weeks I've seen my Muffin take her 1st steps, go on her first leave mom behind playdate with her Auntie K. and Uncle Stevie, give her 1st clear and deliberate "Hi's and Bye's and and has officially chosen her favorite book and is able to shout out the lead character's name - it's Elliot.
It's 2&1/2 months until her first birthday.
My heart is a little heavy, it's all moving sooo fast....
I Love You Muffin

Muffin's Most Favorite Favorite Song! - October, 23rd 2009

The band is Caspar BabyPants, they're a super swell children's band out of Seattle, anyone who needs some"fresh" baby tunes, should check out their website :)

Mommy's Snack Time?

Have you ever caught your own self doing something? I mean that if you were someone else looking in at you, you'd probably shake your head saddly at the pathetic sight you were witnessing. Well yesterday was my day, since Muffin is well into the "feed myself" zone she is supplied with torn up bits of wheat toast, and balls of puffed baby cereal and even though she's gotten pretty good, small portions still end up lodged in the cracks of the highchair, down her shirt, and somehow mashed in her hair. These free roaming chunks of course fly free while she is being removed from the highchair, this is where the sadness comes in....
As these chunks of food (sometimes half chewed) are falling out I'm picking them up and eating them! Yes yes that's what I said, shoveling them into my mouth like some old starving city bird! I know at this point that motherhood isn't all grace and charm, but come on! This really is a new all time low! I'm constantly trying to convince Muffin NOT to put things in her mouth that she finds on the floor, oh well Muffin for the record Mommy's sorry for modeling bad behavior, but Mommy doesn't like to waste food!
That's my rationalization, and I'm sticking to it....

Where are your pants young lady?

Yesterday Muffin, not only REMOVED her pants for the first time, but then decides to casually toss them out of her crib! She's 9 months old! what the hell? Okay I've gotten past the take your socks off 5 seconds after mommy puts them on trick, at first it was cute, then it was "not" so cute now it's just mildly annoying so on and so forth. I'm sure I will live through this little addition to her bag of tricks also, but the thing that made it so funny was that after she woke up from her nap, did the "mommy, get me the hell out of this crib" howl I ran in on cue, let down the rail, scooped her up, gave her lots of hugs and kisses, I noticed how cold her little legs were, I then thought to myself, wow I must be really tired, not feeling well, a little distracted, of just plain losing it, how could I forget to put on her pants before her nap? after mentally vowing to do better, so Muffin doesn't catch her "death of cold" (that's what my grandmother called it) it's then that  I spy her cute little pants lying peacefully on a stack of stuffed animals right below her crib. Laughing on the inside, partly because, I'm not insane, and I've been spared from the lame moms society this time, and partly because there goes another one of those milestones.....
I told this blurb to her Auntie K. who then reminded me to "be happy it wasn't her diaper, you know that's coming next!"

Oh Woman Servant...

I just want to start by saying I love my Muffin sooo much, but as of 3 days ago she doesn't seem all that thrilled with me, unless I'm toting her around all day like some Egyptian Princess, which is fine because she is my Princess but I'm neither Egyptian, nor am I blessed with the hulking strength of the loyal and devoted men servants who would normally have this coveted position. Well anyway it seems that Muffin has gone on to perfect this low gutteral whining/moaning thing that starts as soon as I make motion to remove her from her perch, by the time she actually makes it to the floor, crib, highchair, etc. She has reved it up to full throttle screaming, tears and all. Some offer up the old standby commentary of she must be teething....
Okay fine I've heard about how the human touch can heal, but am I supposed to believe that the simple act of me swooshling her up into my arms has the ability to knock out the pain of creeping molars! I don't think so! Either way being the grade A sucker that I am, I tote her around most of the day just in case there is even a small chance that I may be relieving any pain or discomfort that she may be feeling ( aweee my aching back) - I know like I said a Grade A sucker -
The baby literature says it's just a phase, is it? Or is this where I (sucker mom) mishandle the scenario give her all the cuddles she request, and blindly start down the road of Tiny Terror-dom to be regretted for many years to come? Either way this is a learn as you go kind of a expirence - I'll keep you posted...

Okay, Baby Milestones - Slow Down!

Okay, we're clicking the Muffin milestones off a little to fast for mama's liking. Recently I talked about  the independent standing, and starting down that rocky road of finger fed crap snacks (many have tried to convince me that she'll never develop properly if I don't start NOW teaching her how to use her fingers to eat aka dumping out a butt load of cheerios, doritos, tastee-os, etc. and saying "have at it kid") yesterday out of the blue and without provocation Muffin standing in her crib waiting patiently for me to finish cleaning up the explosion of toys, throws out her first wave connected with the appropriate "Hiiiii" granted it was wild flailing of her right arm, but it was most definitely a wave. Later on that morning on her first trip to the science museum, we attended her first film, an IMAX piece about dolphins (i'll never feel the same about my tuna sandwiches again...)    feeling pretty fabulous about her great behavior we took her to a second film later in the afternoon on Van Gogh where she promptly decided to add in her own narration, not crying just chatting along, LOUDLY. Having a wonderful afternoon out with family we came home snapped into her floor level eating seat and started munching on dinner, a mixture of diced carrots and green beans, after eating approx. 3/4 of her food, she, with out any vocal protest, decides that she is finished, she contorts her little body, stands up in the eating seat, throws her little leg over the side, climbs out and crawls away! This is a chair that had previously confined her safely, until I unlatched and released her! Glenn and I couldn't help but laugh in astonishment, we do have a desire to raise a strong, self reliant young lady, but at 9 months - that's really pushing it!
Needless to say my little girl is growing up, and all is as it should be, and I couldn't be happier.... I just didn't think it would go so fast.