best bunny!

best bunny!
Originally uploaded by Zephyr510

Sometimes, my hermit-ish neighbors in this suburban town surprise me.

It was early evening, and I wanted to get some work in. So Derek took P out walking. P had insisted on wearing her tiger outfit. The thing fit and kept her warm enough, so I wasn't going to insist on Real Clothes.

A neighbor spotted her and came running out with a bunny outfit that her daughter had outgrown. I love this, since we normally never see the neighbors in this bedroom community. It's not the kind of place where kids play in the front yards. Kind of quiet. Serious. You would never peg it for bunny costume territory.

I was so into my computer that I didn't see her when she came back until her new bunny ear nearly brushed my cheek. And then I fell over laughing-- my P, who left as a tiger and returned as a bunny.

Exercise vs. Ice Cream

This diary on MotherTalkers about vitamin supplements possibly blocking the benefits of exercise was just the kick in the pants I've needed for a long, long time.

I'm seven months postpartum, after my second child. And boy have I found it to be true that losing weight the second time is challenging. It's coming off slowly, and I expect that when I wean, more will come off. But it doesn't help that for Mother's Day, I got a Cuisinart Soft Serve Ice Cream Maker (yeah, DH was thinking it would be a gift for the whole family). That thing is magical-- the ice cream it produces is fabulous.

But it just sucks to remember my pre-baby body and all the things it could do--I could do!

I could:

- Run without feeling winded after a few minutes. And without feeling like I needed an industrial strength sports bra.

- Not worry about muffin tops-- either eating or having.

- Actually go for a run (or to dance class, or yoga) when it fit my schedule, without worrying about leaving little ones behind.

Etc, etc. You know how it is. There are all sorts of things I used to do that I want to do again. Lyn's diary nudged me into acknowledging that exercise should be at the top of that list.

So clearly, my big challenge here is balance-- bringing exercise and fun physical activity back into my life, prioritizing it, and still enjoying an occasional soft serve night with the family.

I have woken up early three times this week to do at least part of that kick butt Tracy Anderson postpartum DVD. It's a start, right?

What are the things you miss from pre-baby days? How are you re-incorporating those things?

NOTE: I think there's an understanding among us all here that talking about this does NOT in any way mean that you don't love your kids or anything like that. No guilt! This is about encouraging each other to remember to develop what we love. Whether it's running, baking, writing, whatever-- we have a lot to accomplish in addition to child-rearing. Let's support each other in figuring out how!

going to school

You have to figure that having a professor for a dad, Paloma would pick up on the teacher thing fast. True that.

She's now doing really well at playing teacher. I sit on the couch, sometimes with my mom, and Paloma stands in front. We say "Good morning teacher!"

P: "Good morning class!"
Me: "What are we learning about today? Yesterday we learned about trees."
P: "Today we are learning about cars. Cars and trucks go on the road. People stay on sidewalks."

And she went on about the wind, and the road, and the wheels. It felt like morning poetry.

Sometimes having a toddler is a really great reminder of how creative we all can be. Paloma made me want to do some creative writing or make a crazy collage or do a twisty interpretive dance. I always thought I couldn't draw but Paloma is teaching me that maybe I can after all. Don't worry, I won't assault you with my refrigerator art. Just hers. :)

Mother's Day post-game wrap up

Happy Wednesday! (I'd like to say, I started this on Monday but it has been SO BUSY at MomsRising that I've had zero opportunity to post.) How was your Mother's Day? For my sister's husband's family, it's their first one without their mom. She passed away of cancer last December. I want to remember them specially this year.

For our little family, it was a lovely day. Ok, I'm holding back. It was fabulous!!! We went to the beach with our girls and my mom, and just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. And Derek surprised me with... wait for it... a Cuisinart ICE-45. What is this miracle, you ask? It is a soft serve ice cream maker. All my troubles are over.

Or perhaps it's my first frenemy. I have never had a frenemy, being just a tad out of that clever demographic that invented the term. Also, I'm just not the type to cultivate good frenemies. But inanimate objects, I've decided, can be my frenemy.

Here's why. I just had my first taste of heaven called homemade soft serve. It is wondrously good. Derek made organic chocolate soft serve, and it was truly the creamiest, silkiest ice cream I have ever had. Yet, I am almost seven months postpartum and... you know where this is going. Frenemy. I love you but never want to see you. I see such heights of potential deliciousness, such depths of miserable poundage.

The ICE-45 is not multi-functi like the KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer, which I bought used from a friend and still admire daily. (sidebar: That thing can do anything. D says he wants to get one for his lab. Maybe ask it to grade papers.) I can't pretend to want it around to, you know, make something healthy. No, the soft serve maker exists to do one thing and one thing only-- make soft serve ice cream. Much as I love and use my KitchenAid, I also admire this focus, this dedication.

WAIT. What if I made soft serve yogurt with the same ingredients I'd use in a smoothie?

OMG. The lovin' is back on.

Oh-- and MomsRising now has over a million members. Our video has over 11 million views. We are eternally grateful to each and every mother, dad, daughter, son, aunt, cousin, grandparent, uncle, friend and colleague who passed it on. You can still do it! We changed the language at the end so it works every single day of the year.

We <3 every MomsRising member and everyone who laughed along with us and passed it along.

Hilarious Mother's Day video!

This is from MomsRising to celebrate Mother's Day and it is hilarious. I have inside information that it was written by an Onion staffer, which will make perfect sense to you after you see it. The cool thing is you can customize it to feature the name of a favorite mom in your life!

Watch it, then pass it on-- it will definitely get a laugh.

And definitely let me know what you think in the comments! Are you going to be sharing it?

the slippery slope of toddler thinking

It was a lovely Sunday morning. Bubba (=grandpa) was sitting on the floor with Paloma, both in pajamas.

P: Take off your socks!
B: No, thanks, I'll keep them on!
P: Take off your socks!
Me: Bubba doesn't have to take off his socks if he doesn't want to.
B: I don't have footie pajamas like you do, so I'll keep on my socks.
P: Take off your socks! Cubuzz (=because) it's fun to take off socks!
B: Well, ok. (takes off socks)
P: Take off your pants!!!

We laughed and laughed.

hey- have I been Duggared?

You know what's weird? I have two gorgeous, healthy, wonderful little girls. But the Walter Makichen book Spirit Babies is getting into my head, and makes me feel guilty for not letting some spirit baby descend into my womb. Ok what??? Why I am letting this into my head? This is one step away from saying I want to be a Duggar because I don't want to deprive a soul from having a life on Earth. People, I haven't even READ the Spirit Babies book. I haven't even SEEN the Duggars' show!

Seriously, I can see that Sabrina's baby days are numbered, and I know I'm going to miss it even as I long for my physical and mental space again. I have so much more energy these days, and I think it might be a hormonal thing as my body makes a little less milk while she takes in a little more solid food. It's not even that much of a shift-- she's mostly nursing still-- but I think it's making a huge difference in my energy levels. But it also means babyhood is fast slipping away forever.

And that is ok-- that's life, right? It's always changing. Things that don't change aren't alive. So it's good to feel this slight upheaval and let it go, and accept that the girls will always be growing and changing, and that I will always be growing and changing as a mother and a whole person too. And part of that is about saying goodbye to stages as they pass.

Honestly, I don't know that I feel like YES- our family is COMPLETE. But last night, watching Derek with Paloma while I was with Sabrina, it really hit me how wonderful it is for our little family to have that one-on-one thing. And that maybe the complete feeling I seek is really just a longing for things to feel "done" in a way that they will never feel, because things are always changing.

I guess I love how it is now, but am still coming to terms with the "whoa--I will never be pregnant again" thing. The childbearing years were so feared, anticipated, then just like that-- over.

Onward, onward! One day I will be the mother of two girls and no babies! That's how it goes.

two bikes, just married

two bikes, just married, originally uploaded by Zephyr510.

M and F got married a couple weeks ago, on one of the first warm days of the year. They're avid bicyclists and they both biked all the way up to Tilden Park in Berkeley with nary a sweat breaking out. M looked gorgeous in a white and pink ensemble.

Damn, I love the sassy bride dresses. I went pretty traditional myself, but at least two friends have married in beautiful microminis. I love that I have friends who do this. Vicarious living rules.