M&M's

My daughter is a relatively healthy eater.  She LOVES fruits and veggies and she eats pretty much whatever we eat for dinner.  Sometimes I feel like I should do a better job with her meals as far as being kid friendly as such, but then I am proud of us, as parents, exposing her to all kinds of foods.  Then it's also great that I don't have to stress when we do go out to eat. The Grandma's always freak out and want to make sure we go to a kid-friendly place - worst! First of all M is so excited to be out and about that she could care less about eating and second, that girl will eat shrimp, fish, steak and chicken, so we can eat anywhere.

Ok, sorry, I got off track.  Anyway, my daughter woke up Sunday morning and the first thing out of her mouth was "M, M's"  That's right she wanted M&M's. Poor little girl must have been dreaming about them all night. So we went downstairs and I gave her a few M&M's while I made breakfast.  Was this the right thins to feed my child first thing in the morning?  No, of course not, but she was happily entertained while I cooked a pretty healthy breakfast of french toast, sugar free syrup and fresh berries. 

I always remember to pick my battles. I love seeing my daughter smile - which she pretty much does 24/7 anyway and that makes me feel like a pretty good mom right there.  

This and That

I was super excited to become a mom and had no expectations.  The no expectations worked to my advantage I believe.  I mean all I heard was negative stuff from other moms, lame moms.  "Oh you're going to be SO tired!" "You're never going to get to do what you want anymore!" "I hope you like stinking.- consider yourself lucky if you get to shower!"  And so on and so. Lame! So when I was a new mom I felt like everything was great and it really was.  I was always tired so that wasn't a big deal and actually I got more sleep then, then I do now. I still do exactly what I want and now I have a little buddy to go with me. To be honest I don't mind not showering on the weekends, so that was no big deal there.  Plus why would you shower if you know you're going to continuously have spit up, boogies and food on you!?! 

When I get a chance to meet with a friend and she is a mom or a new mom at that. I despise discussing mothering techniques and our children.  First of all, no other mother is honest with the way they do things. You can't tell me that your children go to bed at the same time every night with no fussing,  they eat all organic and no sugar and you took the bottle away right at age one.  Plus no kid kicks ass as much as my daughter so let's not even go there!  Save it. 

I just go with the flow. I have learned to read M's body language and now that she is talking more and more, it's getting much easier to find out what she needs and when she needs it or if she needs it.  We don't need to buy every ball we see at every store!  

Anyway, M is getting more and more fun.  I can't get enough of her, seriously.  She is the coolest and best thing on this planet.  I know it's good and healthy to have time away from each other, but I miss her a shit ton when we are apart. 

I have a few time saving tips for working moms, so that you can spend more time with your child.  I apologize if they seem obvious - I'm still kind of new at this mommy thing.

• Go grocery shopping on your lunch break. then I put all my refrigerated items in the breakroom fridge.  Note to self:  Don't forget food in fridge.
• Anything I can prepare for dinner ahead of time I do in the morning before work - chopping, slicing, sauce - you know, things like that.  This saves time on dinner prep and makes more time to play.
• I take my baths and showers after M is in bed or napping. She freaks out if she is not in the bathroom with me.
• Or sometimes M and I will bathe together. 
• Everytime M gets home from being with g-ma I repack her bag so it's always ready to go, it takes 5 minutes and it's worth the time to do that.
• I have discovered freeze dried fruit packs for on the go.  She still gets the fruit she likes - the strawberries and bananas are delish - and I don't have to slice and package them up. Grab and Go!
• I have M help me clean her room, it's fun for her to put her toys where they go and same with her clothes, it helps - most of the time. 
• Don't let them watch t.v.  all day because when you really need to get something done, it grabs their attention.  M watches maybe a half hour a day in the evening when I need to get some chores done.
• Make your child eat what you are eating for dinner or at least try it  M eats a HUGE variety of food - even shrimp and fish.  It makes like so much easier.
• When going to a restaurant I let M sit at the table with us now that she is older until the food arrives.  Just let them color or play with the knives. Im' kidding, I'm kidding.  Then I put her in her high chair to eat or else it's way too much time in those blessed, germ infested restaurant high chairs and then you and your partner will have to eat in shifts. 
• Stop what you are doing and play with your kids. 

EVERY.TIME.  I take M to the park other kids come over to get our attention too.  They are just starving for attention.  I look around to find their parents and EVERY.TIME. they are sitting down playing/texting/sexting on their phone and it drives me bonkers!  Pay attention to your child so that I can enjoy mine.

I have to admit I was never a kid person and I'm still not.  I'm just an admirer of my child and if I have more in the future I am sure I will like them too.

I was never really around kids growing up.  My sis is five years younger than me so we didn't hang too much and I REFUSED to babysit.  My neighbors would beg and my mom would make me babysit, but it was known that at age 13 I had officially retired from babysitting.

I also was never a baby person.  I never rushed to hold a baby and if I asked if I wanted to hold one I would say "no" without any hesitation.

Anyway, with all this information you may think I don't even sound like I could meet the standards of even a mediocre mother.  I guess M will be the judge of that.