The upcoming birth...

Yes, it has been quiet on the fronts here at M for Mommy.  But not without reason.

I am full on preparing for the birth of another baby...

...

The suspense is killin' ya isn't it?  Am I pregnant?  I guess this is where I can say that I am actually "a little bit pregnant".  "A little?" you ask.  Yes, a little.  

Soon (the actual due date isn't quite clear yet), I will be birthing my new blog.  I am leaving the Blogger Platform behind me and am moving over to Wordpress.  So, at the moment I am re-inventing oh so many wheels, designing my blog, putting it together, including a whole new recipe section, etc.

I am beyond excited about it and as things are starting to take shape, the excitement only builds.

As soon as my new baby has arrived into this world, I will make the announcement, sincerely hoping that you will move with me.  It will be a whole lot easier to communicate with you, and the site will have a whole lot of yummy-ness to offer in addition to the more frequent updates.

Thanks for hanging around.  Here's to an easy and relatively smooth birth.

Love,

I Don't Have A Title For This Post

Do you know how frustrating it is when every day you experience things that in your mind you HAVE TO blog about, only to then not have the time...??  Of course you do, and if you don't: lucky you and I kinda hate you (in a friendly, but envious sorta way).

Here I am, 6 days after my last post and every single day there have been events that really needed to be put down on paper.  It didn't happen.  What did happen?  A lot.  We: spent a day in Manhattan Beach with David's uncle, had a guest from Spain stay with us for 5 days, went to Disneyland, had a finger painting adventure on Labor Day, worked, baked, cleaned, tidied, cooked, grocery shopped (that's my own language), almost started crawling (the baby, not me), sorted through both boys' clothes, got the new ones out, put the old ones away, did laundry and ... there's much more, I just don't remember.

5 years ago, the niece of a friend of mine spent a month with us in order to improve her English.  (She's from Barcelona.)  This summer she returned to the States to visit some friends and she was crazy enough to extend her stay and come out to CA for a few days to visit us.  She had never met the boys and Kai immediately fell in love with her.  Babiche had to play with him, cuddle with him before he went to bed, hold his hand, go where ever he went.  It didn't take long for him to get completely attached to her.  She was the first he asked for in the morning, the last he asked for at night.  Very cute, but a bit challenging now that she has returned to Spain.  This afternoon he asked me: "Mommy, when is Babiche coming back home?"  So sweet and heart breaking at the same time.

This labor day weekend was awesome!  We introduced Kai (and Ryder, but he's still too young) to Disneyland on Saturday.  It was a hot and crowded day, but it made an impression on him.  Metaphorically speaking, I can say that the Disney can has now officially been opened and there is no turning back.  NOT. A. CHANCE.

One thing I don't understand though: why is it, that my normally impatient toddler is most excited about meeting his favorite characters while he patiently waits in the line that leads up to the meeting?  But then, once it's his turn to meet them...oh my...the water works go into action ACTION.  As in: they go in overdrive.  Floods of tears and burying his head in whomever's shoulder he can get to the fastest.  Really?  That's what we just waited in line for?  Sweating off close to a pound in the burning sun, allowing the person in front of me (or was it behind me?) to nauseate me with their bodily scents, and refraining from making a snarky remark to the kid (who isn't mine) who is practically dancing on my toes.  I had hoped for a bit more of a delighted response.  Tears and "No Mommy, NOOOOO!!!" were not on my radar when I placed myself in the 'meet Woody / Mickey / Buzz Lightyear / Goofy' line.

Despite all that he does manage, every time he goes to bed, to tell me about the castle, the train that went through all the tunnels, the boat in the water (It's a Small World), the rocket ship, the French Fries, Woody, Buzz, Mickey & Goofy and the fact that papa, Babiche, Ryder and mama were all there.  Twice a day.  For the past 4 days.  I think he's hooked.

Ryder enjoyed a lot of the day as well.  It's a Small World was very exciting, and despite the heat he enjoyed bopping around in the carrier on my chest.  I think he enjoyed it a bit more than I did.  With temperatures well into the triple digits, carrying approx. 24 lbs. on my chest isn't quite my idea of being comfortable, but I am glad he was.  Imagine my delight when he decided to conk out after lunch in the stroller...

Labor Day (2 days later) was spent relaxing.  Seriously, we needed the long weekend after our Disney adventure.  The fun part for the kids: Kai's girlfriend and his future mother-in-law (my best friend) came over.  (I can't believe I have to say this, but please take the 'girlfriend' and the 'future mother-in-law' as a joke!!  I said that while winking ;-)The kiddo's went crazy making their biggest finger paint master piece to date: David had cut off a huge piece of paper from his 9ft. roll of seamless. 

Add finger paint to that and 2 toddlers and you have a recipe for success.  The inflatable pool that fits adults as well made it complete: we got to cool off while scrubbing down our little future Van Gogh's.  Finish it all off with some BBQ and you have a fun-filled Labor Day.

And now, on hump day, after a holiday weekend, I am already looking forward to the weekend again.  How bad is that?  I need it already.  It will be filled with children, play dates, craziness and baking.  Deep in my heart I would like to turn myself into (and live a bit more like) a Domesticated Diva, who bakes, who has her house always nice and party-ready, who whips up the best and most delicious meals every day and who has her kids always under control.  What a beautiful life that would be.  Oh well, a girl may have aspirations and dreams, right?  Maybe some day.  [sigh]

100th Post

On May 2, I started this blog and in the 3 months that are behind me, I have gotten seriously addicted to 'blogging'.  Before I started I never really got the 'hype'.  Afterall, why would anyone expose themselves so much to the outside world by writing about family, life and themselves?  In the past 3 months that attitude has changed: blogging (for me) is documenting my journey in raising our 2 boys. The ups and downs, the highs and lows.  It's also an outlet, both emotionally and creatively.  I am still in search of my personal 'writing style' and though I know what I want that to be, I am still working on perfecting it and really making it 'my own'.  And finally, blogging has allowed me to get to know some amazing people.  It's a great way to socialize, give and receive feedback, exchange ideas and create online friendships.  I look forward to some day be able to stick out my hand and say "I'm Marieke (aka HRH Mommy), it's so nice to finally meet you (in person)."

I have thought about what to write or do for my 100th post.  After all, it is the 100th.  A bit of a milestone, ain't it?  Well, instead of sweating over 100 things about me, or whatnot, I have decided to go through my blog so far and highlight some of my favorite posts.  They are either my favorite because of tone, content, or simply because they mean a lot to me.

May 2 - Laughter
May 13 - Living In The Moment
M For Mommy
"Ik hou van je"
The Diaper Fairy
Enjoy Them, They Grow Up So Fast
Email Buttons
My Dearest Ryder
Stop and Smell The Roses
My Dearest Kai

Finally, I am honored to accept 3 awards that I've been given recently by 3 women.

The "I heart your blog" award was created and given to me by Emily at Family and Life in Las Vegas.  Thank you so much Emily!  You're awesome!  I really appreciate your returning visits, comments and support.  I am supposed to pass it on to bloggers that have made my day or helped me out.  That would be:
Joey at Big Teeth and Clouds
Land of Mama Grits
Kate at Mommy Monologues
Lauren at That 22-yr Old Housewife
TV at TV's Take

Thank you TV at TV's Take for the Foxy Mama award.  How fun and what a compliment!  I would like to pass this one on to:

Diapers and Wine

In The Military and on The Move

Lipglossd Mom

And last but not least, I received the Versatile Blogger award from both Jinnia Low and My Side of Life.  Thank you ladies so very much for the recognition.  I would like to pass this one on to a few new blogs that I have recently discovered:
And This Little Mommy Stayed Home
Beat Until Fluffy
Mommyhood: Next Right

And now, the 7 things about me:
1. I cannot sleep in a bed that is not made.
2. I cannot stand unattached, wet hair (like the hair in the drain)
3. I am always more tired in the morning, after I sleep, then I am in the evening before I go to bed.
4. I don't like to read, and yet I am sooo looking forward to reading this book I bought for my Mom's Weekend out (which is next week): "Like Water For Chocolate".
5. My husband got me hooked on milkshakes as comfort food.
6. David and I got married on the spot where he proposed: Point Dume, Malibu.
7. I really, really want to sit down and watch the finale of So You Think You Can Dance.

There is only 1 more thing to say: on to the 200th post I go!!

Milestones and Brothers

I would almost say I feel guilty for not having written for a few days, but I am not going to.  Why would I have to apologize?  Isn't this blog for me?  In the past few months of blogging I have discovered that there I get great pleasure and satisfaction out of writing, yet I also have come to a point where I feel I 'should' be writing every day.  'Should' according to whom?  The only person who thinks I 'should' write daily is me.  No one comes banging on my door if for a day (or a few days in this case) I haven't shared what has been happening on my front.  So, I am not going to apologize for not having been present.  I am simply going to catch up.

The photos above are of both boys at 6 months old.  (Ryder on the left, Kai on the right).
Ryder has finally mastered the art of sitting up.  For the longest time he was 'sorta' able to sit up, but because the poor kid is so top-heavy, he would fall over within no time.  Now that he has discovered the joys of sitting up, there is no stopping and though he still at times tumbles over, he enjoys it.  At the moment he is still often surrounded by pillows to break any kind of tumble, but soon he'll be able to 'fly solo' I think.



He is just such a happy boy.  Loves to giggle, loves to play and discover new games.  It is beautiful to see how simple games can bring so much joy to a baby.  It is such a joy to re-discover the world through my children's eyes.

Other than that, he is loving his solids.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner have become a new experience: what used to be papa and mama helping Kai out, bribing him and at times enjoying a bit of food themselves, while Ryder made it perfectly clear in his swing that he did not appreciate being left out of these daily recurring events, has now turned into papa bribing Kai to eat, while mama feeds Ryder (who seems to have an insatiable appetite and goes through one jar of food after another). 

The 'at times enjoying a bit of food themselves' has turned into papa eating while Kai decides how important his yogurt is (yogurt comes after we actually eat some dinner), whereas mama has to maintain a steady pace in the spoon reaching Ryder's mouth as any delay is cause for alarm (on Ryder's behalf).

Unfortunately, we have taken a step back in sleeping over the past few weeks.  For several months Ryder slept through the night like an angel.  Oh bliss!!  All of a sudden that stopped and he has started waking up anywhere between 2-5am.  Milk is the only way he will go back to sleep.  For all our sanity (mostly for mine as the others hardly notice anything during the night) I have given in.  I am now slowly reducing the amount that he consumes in the hope that he will soon drop the waking up all together and will return to blissfully sleeping through the night.

The reason for his wakings aren't quite clear to me though.  He does have a pretty full diaper when he wakes up (despite me changing it when I go to bed), but not to the point that it wouldn't hold him until 7am.  It could be having reached the milestone of sitting up, it could be he's on his way to reaching another milestone, who knows.  I remember this happening with Kai as well, but regardless, I am ready for sleeping through the night again.

On Friday we got together with my best friend and her daughter.  We hadn't seen each other for a long time as they just returned from a 3-week trip to OH.  Kai missed his girlfriend and was over the top excited to see her again.  When we went over we discovered that that day she had started potty training. "Oh yippee!!" said the little voice inside of me.  Kai would be able to see that his best friend was "going potty", hopefully that will encourage him.  And yes it did...on the way back he asked for "MMS" [translations: M&M's].  I told him that if he would pee on the potty he would get one.  I went out and bought them, showed them to him.  They are in his own special cup.  And that's where the story ends.  They are in their cup on the counter.  Silently.  Abandoned.  Praying for attention.  But other than mommy walking by trying to withstand the temptation of devouring the whole cup with candy, they are severely falling short in the attention they are getting from my toddler.  Do M&M's go off? 

Being a single child, I have never had the experience of a sibling (obviously).  David often mentioned the "Big Brother Power" that Kai would have in Ryder's eyes.  I always thought that would manifest once Ryder was a bit older, but it at this point, it already exists.  This video shows perfectly what I mean.  I love the admiration that Ryder has for Kai as he looks at him in awe.  It warms my heart and I hope that as they get older and Kai becomes of aware of the magical power he holds over Ryder, he will put it to good use (in addition to the inevitable mischief he will be getting Ryder into.  Afterall, boys will be boys).



Well, that was it for catching up on part of the weekend.  There is so much more, but I really have to sit down and do some work now.  I start teaching again at the end of the month and given that we are going to use a new text book, I now have the 'privilege' to spend my afternoons re-working my lectures.  Not really what I had in mind, but c'est la vie.  I have to start early as I really only have a couple of hours a week to work on it given the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day.

Followers vs. Readership

Last week I reached 100 followers.  Yeah for me!  My goal was to reach 100 before the end of the month.  Now that I have, I can't say my life is so much better for it, but it is fun that I reached my goal.

Given the fact that I am still relatively new in the blogging world, I still am not quite sure what it really means to 'follow'.  Yeah, I know someone 'follows' you when they are interested in your blog.  But that brings me to the definition of 'interested'.  Are they interested in getting followers back and therefore hit the 'follow' button as soon as the page of my blog loads, without even looking at any of the content?  Are they following, simply to return the favor because I started following them?  Or did they actually read a few posts, then decided that they were interested and clicked the button?  And if this is the scenario, do they actually come back and read posts?  And if so, how often?

The people who leave comments are usually the same, so I guess those are the ones who actually read the stories, but who are the people out there who read, but don't leave a comment?  I know some of my friends read my blog and 'leave comments' when they see me in person.  As far as the rest of the world is concerned, I have no clue.  I'd like to know.

I guess the stories do get 'out there' further than I thought as the other day I received an award from Christina at Under His Wings.  Christina, thank you!  I was so surprised when I read your comment in which you mentioned the award.  I know that other bloggers' stuff is being read all around the world, but for this mommy with 'only' just over 100 followers it was a moment of coolness: "My blog reaches India and is read there!  Cool"

According to the rules, I now have to share 7 things about me that make me 'me':

1. I have a sweet tooth and love to bake, but...still need to shed 7 more lbs. from my pregnancy with Ryder.
2. I am crazy about sushi, but...severely allergic to shell fish.
3. I love washing my hair, but...wet hair that is not attached (afterwards, when cleaning out the shower) gives me the hibby-jibbies. [eeeek!]
4. I love to travel, but...the thought of taking a long plane ride with a 2-year old toddler and a 6-month old baby terrifies me at the moment.
5. I love a clean house, but...do not seem to be able to ever maintain it longer than 24 hours.
6. I love the beach, but...I hate sand.
7. I love theme parks, but...hate roller coasters.

I would like to pass this award on to the following people:
Diane at Be Still a Minute
Maryanne at Lipglossd Mom
Untypically Jia at Color Me UnTypical
Kyann at Sanity is Overrated
Lauren at That 22 yr. old Housewife

So.....

... going back to the thought with which I started out: why are people following and in reality, what does it really mean?  WHY are people interested?  When you read this and would like to respond, leave a comment.  I'd love to hear from you.

A 'Quick' Run to The Store

Here is what bothers me: almost every day, something happens that makes me think "Oh, I have to write about that".  And 99.9% oh screw it, 100% of the time that is at moments where sitting down to write down my notes is pretty much beyond impossible.  Then, at 9pm (like today) when I finally have time to sit and write, the moment is so far behind me, gone, history, that it has lost all of its emotion and hence doesn't serve a purpose for my blog anymore.  And every day I tell myself "note the emotion, so you can access that again tonight when you write".  And every day I fail miserably.

Having said that, I would like to take a moment and comment on the 2 people who appeared to be incapable of parking their cars this afternoon at Bed Bath & Beyond in Studio City, CA.  If you were the owner of a big black, fancy, shiny Lexus SUV (you know, the one that were deemed unsafe by IDontRememberWhatCarSafetyRatingOrganization because they tipped over too easily) or you own the black, shiny, fancy-wannabe Nissan sedan that took the Lexus' spot when they left: TAKE A DRIVING LESSON AND LEARN TO PARK!!!!!!

You know, those white lines that mark the spots in parking lots...yeah, those white ones, on the ground, they serve a purpose: they indicate where you park.  IN BETWEEN THEM!!!  Granted you both drive big cars, but trust me, the spots didn't say "compact", so you should have been perfectly capable of parking the darn vehicles properly.  If you can't park the car, don't drive it!!!

You shouldn't have to force other people, especially those with 2 kids, to having to hold their breath in order to be able to get out of their car.  Oh, "Why did I have to take that spot next to you then?" you ask??  Ah, good question, I saw that one coming: because it was in the shade and the last one on the lot, without me having to park down the street and walk a block.  I have 2 kids!!!!!  Can't you read?!?!  And it was another HOTHOTHOT one today, so no, I didn't feel like shlepping my kiddo's down a busy street in the sun.

And as if getting out the car wasn't enough of a struggle, the shopping experience definitely didn't improve the quality of my afternoon.  I came in for 3 things: a stick blender (as I ground my old one up on ice cubes - you'd think it could handle that.  No, it couldn't!!!  Let this be a lesson for all of you blending-fanatics out there!), popsicle molds and one of those misting fan spray bottles.  You know, the spray bottles with a fan on it.  The ideal buddy for zoo days like the one earlier this week.

Stick blender: was on the website.  Not in the store.  Got ordered, will arrive in 2 weeks.  Got a $10 discount coupon and managed to get the shipping costs waived.  Hey, if the store doesn't have it in stock and is ordering it to be shipped to me, I am certainly not planning on paying for shipping costs.  Them not having it in stock is not my problem.

Popsicle molds: were on the website.  Not in the store.  But by the time 2 associates had searched the shelves (really: do you think I didn't already check?!?!  What do you think I am?  Stupid?  If you guys had had it, I would have found it.  I really really really want those molds) and finally checked in the 'back' (which took wayyyy too long when you have a fidgety 2 year old in the cart and a fussy and tired 5 month old in the carrier on your chest), the answer was "no".  REALLY??  I wasted Cheerios, a cereal bar and lots of bribing for "no"?  [stifled curse]

Mist-fanny-thingy (that sounds wrong, but you know what I mean): Check!  I would have lost it if they didn't have it.

By the time I get to the check out, both boys have absolutely had it.  What was supposed to be a quick in-and-out let-me-get-my-things-and-go trip, turned into the shopping experience every mom dreads (and rightfully fears).  Only for it to be made WORSE at the check out where a 40-somewhat-disgruntled-unhappy-with-his-life-and-everything-in-it- middle-aged-probably-mid-life-crisis-suffering-uptight-man manages the register.  (Did I mention I ALWAYS pick the wrong line?).
"Did you find everything you needed?" 
(Do you really care?) 
Me: "As a matter of fact I did not." (and it really quite bothers me) 
Him: "I meant, did you need anything else?" 
Me [thinking]: See!  My point exactly!!  Ya just don't give a flying toss!" 
Me [politely]: "nope, thanks". 
Him: "Do you have the $10 discount coupon that is mentioned here on your order?" 
Me: "Oh, I gave it to Sean, who placed the order for me on the computer over there."  [pointing] 
He then slowly but determined picks up the phone and calls over the intercom to Sean to verify and to make sure that this woman in front of him (yeah, the one with the 2 screaming kids) isn't lying.  Com'on!!!  You've GOT to be kiddin' me!!  Are you for real??  Oh wait, you probably don't get paid enough to really care.  That's right, I forgot!

Yeah, and then upon returning to my car there was the Nissan whose owner couldn't park either.  'Nuf said above!

Well, maybe today I made sure to remember the emotion as this seems to have turned into quite a post.  Thanks for reading!

25 Day Challenge - Day 15

Patience
When I set today's challenge up at the end of yesterday's post, I thought to myself: Oh god, that's going to be a hard one!  I am not graced with much patience, you know, and especially these days with a baby, a toddler, 2 high-maintenance dogs, a whiny cat and a husband (who again left his coffee cup on the counter), my patience seems to be running a bit low.  

So, today was indeed a challenge.  But...it paid off!  When I logged on to my blog dashboard this morning, I gathered that I had gained 2 followers overnight, yet the number of followers on my dashboard and on my blog were the same as last night: 46.  Huh?  I tried everything: refreshing the page, emptying out the cache, opening everything in a different browser, restarting the computer, nothing seemed to get the 46 turned into a 48.  As I was trying more things and more things didn't work, I felt my patience quickly being reduced from medium to ULTRA-low.  And as my patience went down, my blood pressure went up.

Then, I decided to let it go.  I'd figure it out later.  Or not.  But damnit, I really wanted to see that '48', not the '46'.  Sigh....  No, I'd move on with my day and figure it out later.  Really.  REALLY.  Later came and later went, but I didn't figure it out.  The kids went down for a nap, they woke up, I still hadn't figured it out.  

I figured that since it happened miraculously overnight that new followers didn't show up on my page anymore, so maybe the problem would fix itself overnight as well.  I mean, a mommy can believe in miracles, can't she?

I had sent out an email to a few fellow mommy bloggers and got some good feedback and tips, but unfortunately nothing helped.  Until...at the end of the day there was the 1 tip that did the trick.  Thanks Diane!!  The 2 followers who didn't show up were following me 'privately', meaning their photo doesn't show up on my followers' list.  There was the ahah-moment and the realization that 'patience' had paid off.  

That does bring me to a question for the more seasoned bloggers among us:
Why do people choose to follow privately and not publicly?  

Well, on that note, here's tomorrow's challenge:

Co-operation
To be co-operative means to have a quiet eye for what is needed and contribute accordingly.  To be a support at the right time, in the right place.

Click here for the 'pause - think - act' elements of the challenge.