me time.

after reading so many baby message boards, i realize moms do jack shiz for themselves. its sad. i dont know whether its a martyr complex: "omg. but my baby NEEDS ME all the time!!!" or if they simply dont know how to get away for 5 mins and just... relax. so here are a few ideas that dont take much time (ok, some might, but whatever) that at least give you a few moments of "ahhhh..."

1. take a shower and put your make-up on. do your hair. get dressed. GET READY FOR THE DAY. you have no idea how much better this will make you feel. dont say how tired you are. dont say there's not point "im only going to the store". do it. you will feel pretty. you will feel more "you". and it will be worth it. how many (newborn) months have you worn those same PJ pants when your husband gets home? you've pretty much lost your mascara, havent you? sigh. find it. feel good - look good.

2. go to the gym. or at least workout. the boost you will get will be tremendous. besides the fact that you will have more energy, you will feel/look better in no time. there's something about a good workout that makes you just feel better about yourself. and if youre worried about the daycare at the gym - balls up, dude. find one that you trust and move on. we've been going to the same place since aidan was 5 mo old. sawyer and reese both started the day after they turned 3 months. they know my kids, love them, and i trust them completely.

i also have... wait for it... friends at the gym. omg, right? a whole 1-2 hrs of talking to adults!! yahooo!! that alone is worth the $85/month. the time spent just relaxing and doing something for yourself is worth it.

3. read a book. your kid has to sleep sometime, right? go into your room and read. how good does it feel to forget about anything going on and entrap yourself in a character whom you dont even know. to live their life. to love what they love. to cry when they cry. maybe thats why i was a literature major... to feel how others feel in situations that i will never be in. its amazing. and just relaxing.

4. go to the store alone. you all know that i truly do love to take my 3 to the store. its fun. without them, i get bored. BUT it can be simply surreal to go to the store... and putz. lol go when your husband gets home and the kids are in bed. even if its late ;)

5. buy some skivvies ;) sex it up! on that note, i'll add to this one - have sex. often. even if you dont feel like the sexiest woman in the world - you are. your husband loves you - no matter what (usually. ok im kidding). you may be tired, but just tryyyyyy to get in the mood. once you start, im sure things will progress nicely and you wont forget it.

i never understand when i read that married couples havent had sex in months.

what? how?

youre tired? really? 15-20mins (ok - im underestimating here. or maybe overestimating for you lol) isn't going to kill you. and you'll feel better. sex is a very important part of any marriage. and just throwing it to the side bc "uggghhhh bc i have a BABY!! and i am tired!!" seems so... ridiculous. make out, cuddle, do it. :)

6. go on date nights. i'll write another post soon about leaving your kid. i know some people dont have sitters. i know some people BF and cant just leave at any time. but... when you can... try it. rekindle that honeymoon phase. talk - about other things than your kid(s). get drunk. lol just make sure your relationship stays on top.

7. girls night. your husband can handle it. i promise. leave for just a few hours (if you can via BFing) and go to the movies, or happy hour, or just get some coffee, get caught up on recent gossip - nothing makes a new mom feel better than starting to feel "normal" again. and if that includes your best girl friends - then do it.

8. nap. now, im the first one to say that i cant nap when the kids nap. hell, my 3 go down at the same time and i STILL putz around, do housework, etc when i KNOW i should be sleeping. so... if you can. rest. try to get an hour of sleep while your kid(s) nap and you'll feel better later. even if its just once a week. plan it and stick to it.

im not one to say "let the house go to shit! you had a baby!!" so plan accordingly. get things done when you can so you can have a stress free nap :)

9. get a hobby. scrapbooking, photography, knitting, making hairbows.. whatever it may be. sometimes new moms (and esp SAHMs) have a feeling of "ugh. all i do is (enter kid stuff here)" and that sucks. do something that makes you feel proud of yourself. i dont care if its collecting stamps and sticking them into a binder - at least you can finish it and say "hey, you did a good job!" boosts of self esteem (and also, a hint of independence) can make anyone feel better.

10. buy something nice. for yourself. for your hard work. so when you look at it you think "yeah, damnit. i deserved that." ;)

you are a good mom. a strong and (likely) patient woman who puts other people before herself. i know how it feels. my day is encompassed with plans for 3 children who i love so much that my heart may explode. but... sometimes... i just want to say "hey me. you do a good job. and for that... i give you ________" and i think thats pretty damn fair.

you have any other great ideas? let me know!!

sawyer's poops.

well the problem is solved, my friends.

i, and dh, have been slowly ruining our 2 year olds body bc we assumed she had a dairy allergy and fed her soy.

oddly enough - she has a soy allergy/sensitivity. ok. really?

after her horrible blood test (started off great, but then she wasnt giving enough blood so they had to root around and i wanted to cry for her), we got her results back (appt to talk about them next week). but here are her top sensitivities.


level 3.
soy
garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
fennel (the spice)

level 2.
horseradish
cantelope
cashews
tuna
sole
lobster
turkey
eggs (we knew this! phew!)
and gluten.

gahhhh!!

so they said to start eliminating things. oh, and what a time sawyer has had with dairy products (yes, im trying to give them to her sparingly so she gets used to more dairy). but dear heavens our whole pantry is changing bc of the gluten.

and, let me remind you, food for kids like her is pricey. i was actually surprised lol i had barely anything in my house that had no wheat. so my mom and i did a lot of shopping and searching and at least found some things to start her off right :)

BUT just in the past 2 days of doing this - she has not had one blow out. just one or 2 NORMAL poops. which is so nice. haha i guess this falls into YKYAPW, right? talking about your kids poops is gross, but im so happy that now we know all these things and she can gain some weight :)

so. starting off - 2 years old and 21 lbs. lets see if we can chunk her up in a good way :)

ahhh... the great outdoors.

right?

ok. so sometimes the outdoors are not so GREAT.

picture this: 4 days, 3 nights of alone time with your hubby. you decide to go camping bc you knwo your husband would love the idea. he does. win! then you research. oooh arkansas! that sounds fun! you can go the the diamond mines, make a million off some diamond you find and come home totally relaxed. SWEET.

sounds glorious, right?

oh. well. maybe you forgot about THE SPIDERS. and THE HEAT. and THE HUMIDITY. and THE SUNBURN you might get after being outside for so long.

sigh.

so we drop off aidan and sawyer for their First Day of School this year. then we drop reese off at my parents, go home and pack the car up, and hit the road. EJ and i are good road trippers. we have fun together so car rides are a breeze. except for the fact that i have to pee about every 45 mins. but EJ already knows. i say "hey.. so.." and he says "i'll pull over at the next gas station". good hubby.



we get to the campsite and start setting up. we see a few weird spiders. red body, legs that are about 3" EACH, but just kinda hope they leave us alone.



we decide to stay in for the night, everything is cool until - um, it gets dark. OMG THE BUGS. EJ is a manly man, but he effin hates spiders. we had a fire, but even around the fire, they all came out. i had to hide in the tent, but the tent was so hot that i wanted to die - the VERY breezy day turned stale and no wind by night.

we dealt with it. we slept like crap, but waking up right next to the lake was worth it.



we went into the town of the http://www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com/ and then ate some and then had a BLAST mining. we didnt come back with anything but some quartz, tiny diamonds, and crystals, but it was so much fun. minus the wretched sunburn i got.



we ate some mexican in town and then headed back. we tried to rest, but the spiders would not do the same. they just kept annoying us. we got into the tent to hang out, but it was so hot. neither of us could sleep. it sucked. we wanted to stay out there so bad, head in to hot springs the next day.

but we couldnt.

we packed up at 1130pm or so and headed home. sigh. we are going to re-try a camping trip in november or so. somewhere new.

i did, however, have so much fun with EJ. <3 i just love him to bits. we have fun wherever we go.