Some Days I Dislike Being a Woman.....

...that would be about 10-12 days out of the month..... yep, almost 1/3 of the month I hate Mother Nature. For those same reasons I am blessed with a wonderful little girl (who I hope never has to suffer through PMS symptoms like I had as a teenager, nor those that are even more random now.)
     So if you haven't caught on yet, this post is going to be about my period. Probably falls under the TMI category, but since most of my faithful readers are women who might be able to relate or commiserate, I am simply whining venting.
     I remember hearing at some point during my pregnancy that my monthly cycle was going to get easier after I had a baby- lucky for them I don't remember who the source of this large red lie came from otherwise I might have to hunt them down and whack them with a tampon (unused) because the were oh so wrong. It has not been easier- quite the opposite- and also unpredictable and unbearable. I was 'normal' perhaps for a month or two post-baby and since then I've had the joy of experiencing crazy ass symptoms ranging from sometimes bi-monthly cycles to debilitating headaches, fatigue, mood swings and more. Sounds a bit like pregnancy symptoms, right? Not. Just the 'luck' of the draw I guess. And I might be going out on a limb here, but I think that it all boils down to the main reason that we had fertility issues in the first place- my progesterone. I've talked to my OB/GYN and he says that losing weight and being on birth control will help and suggested an IUD. I clearly hear what you're saying Mr. Man but you don't understand.... when you have boobs and these hips, I'll feel like you're understanding me. (Yes, I know, for the love of lattes, just change doctors... I really like Dr. V.... um, never noticed that correlation, ha ha....  I'm a bit on the sheepish side when it comes to speculum and paper gowns that trying out a new doc makes me cringe)
     I read up on the IUD and even with a copper one, I think it will still whack my system out- and have you read all those side effects? I don't need anymore help retaining/ gaining weight or with my mood swings.... and the pill, well, finding one with a dose that doesn't make me look or eat like a stoned teenager or act like a psycho bitch would be good--- it's riding out the experimental period (no pun intended) that is difficult. 
     This last cycle was about the last straw- I was so incredibly emotional with a short (is there a word that describes shorter than short) fuse that it pushed me over the edge.  Combine that with a precocious little toddler who didn't nap for two days and you can cue up the soundtrack from Psycho.... seriously, I had to lock myself in the bathroom and give myself a timeout- with a king size package of Reese's and a bottle glass of wine. At 11:30 a.m.  (just kidding, the wine was an afterthought- I will be sure to put it in the emergency stash for next month) It was unreal and unfair. I have a great little girl, my uterus has served it's purpose and it can go away now.
      And today my nose looks like Rudolph.... really? Hi, I'm fifteen. Cool, just one more little symptom that I can throw into my iPeriod app.  Yep, there's an app for that- why not? 
So I'm game for some supplements or vitamins to help, but not anymore hormone based anything--- my family will probably start locking me in the garage for five days out of the month pretty soon. At least there's a fridge and wine in there....  

Sham-WHAT?? Or... Coffee Talk with MiniLatte

It seems like many, many moons ago that MiniLatte finally said her first word.... and it has been non-stop fun since (especially that time in one of my fave stores when she clearly swore- {rhymes with pod bam-it} after dropping my sun glasses-- and yes, I did enjoy this week's Modern Family episode when Lilly dropped an F*bomb-- I can resemble relate....). I've really enjoyed hearing her vocabularly blossom and often shake my head in disbelief- or wonderment--- I don't think I taught her that word.... not that word--- just words... must be Dora.  Seriously- she's only 2-1/2ish and can put full sentences together better than I can especially before my a.m. caffeine injection skinny latte.  There's this one particular word that she says that makes me giggle like a teenager.  Call me silly, but it's kinda funny:

Okay, what's this?

Take a guess?

No, it's not Buzz Wite-weer Soap.... it's shampooP....... or maybe PampooP- either way, it makes me giggle.

And let's not forget about the puter (laptop) or the washcar (carwash)--- or perhaps 4 a.m. conversations, for no reason at all:

"Daddy's name is Jason

This is my tinker bell baby- It's mine (baby= blanket)
I'm not sleeping
Hi mamma. Gives me a hug
Daddy use this Dora baby
It's not dark anymore-
        no, honey, it is dark and you need to go back to sleep
Patting my arm....You're not wearing a dress.
        No cuz its night night time.
You're not wearing a sweater.
        No I'm wearing my pjs
You have a pink shirt.... Eeyore (I'm wearing Eeyore pants)
Where's Ariel she's not on the tv....
        No she's on the DVD player.
Get it.
        Ariel sleeps at 4 am.
Wake her up
Hi mamma. Another hug
You got a pillow. Twelve-teen pillows... 1-2-3-4.....
I want some milk....

AntiLatte gives in and takes her downstairs because I had an early meeting... Walking down the hall. We're going downstairs so mommy can get some sleep since you're not going to sleeep... Yep....    And she proceeds to have her 4 am party.... I'm really tired but can't help but laugh at her randomness or the fact that she can put together a sentence without coffee... it's only because she's so damn cute that she gets away with it too!

Happy New Year!

Where the freak did 2011 go? I mean seriously- where? I remember January- a trip to Disneyland; April, a trip to DisneyWorld; May- my first very own new car; August- MiniLatte's Bday; and then it's a blur. Time seems to be going by so quickly now that we have a kid.  (And then there are those days where she really acts like a two year old that I WISH would go by as quickly!) I can't believe that it is 2012. It seems like not long ago when the world was freaking out about the impending doom that Y2K (remember??) would bring.... and here we are 12 years later. I actually ended the year quite memorably standing in as maid-of-honor as my mom got married. (I'm happy that she's happy!)
     I have such high hopes for 2012. Watching K grow more each day, learning like a little sponge and bringing even more joy than we already have to our everyday lives. Not that 2011 wasn't good- I can say that it was relatively drama-free; we were blessed with good health; have a home; have jobs, family and friends that we love- blessed and lucky to have what we do have. I'd by lying if I said that I wasn't secretly wishing to hit the lottery, but in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy what I do have right now which is a lot to be grateful for.  I also have quite a few goals (resolutions(?)) but those are still a work in progress- and you know they typical- save money, make money, lose weight, eat better, exercise more, play more, work less, yadayada.....
     Mostly I just wanted to say Happy New Year- may '12 be the best yet! ( :
   

26.2 Again

I'm exhasuted..... life has been a bell-to-bell sprint lately. I guess I should say when is it NOT? That's the life of a working Mommy who doesn't quite know when enough is enough. There is always something going on. And just when I think that I've got that balance mastered, there's another circus ball to juggle. Oh well. I'm good at juggling, it's an adventure.
And sprinting? The only literal kind that I've been doing lately is 2-1/2 blocks in Downtown today to watch some of the 8,000 crazy ass people cross the finish line at the California International Marathon. I had alterior motives- AntiLatte was running in his SIXTH marathon- the first since we've had MiniLatte (we were laughing about it last night that she could possible be his Finisher's Medal- lol).
I'm in awe of all of those people that get up at the asscrack of dawn and lace up their shoes (some weren't wearing any!) and perservere to the end despite cold weather, leg cramps, shin splints and by sheer willpower complete 26.2 miles.

Some were running in honor of their loved ones or wonderful charities, some were running to meet a goal, some were running to run more (like qualify for Boston?!) and then my dear one, runs because he loves it- and he beat his personal best time. 26.2 short miles in just 3:45:09- funny, that's just a hair shorter than my labor (hmmm... maybe I HAVE already run a marathon- but there were some nice meds at the end of mine!). Good job babe. I'm really proud of you.  (By the way, he's not the one in stripes.....)

No, Mom, You CAN'T Put Up Your Christmas Tree Today....

... or subtitled, "Let the Freakin' Turkey Have His Day Too.."
Yes, this is an actual conversation that I had with my wonderful Mom this weekend. In all fairness I do have to say that the comment was directed to her very Martha-like boyfriend (but that's a story for another day), yet I'm still shaking my head days later. I'm not bah-humbuging the holidays- I love decorating my house for the holidays, but the earliest that IMHO it should be permissible is mid-November at the earliest.
    Seriously- there is at least a few more celebratory occasions between Day 'o Candy and Christmas that should at least be given a cursory nod before you put up the evergreen tree and toss some tinsel on it.
    I mean the holidays are overly commercialized as it is, but holy moly, to actually have Christmas stuff out in retail stores BEFORE Halloween is just a bit more than I can understand. Yes, really.  I had to take MiniLatte to pick up some sparkles for her Tinker Bell costume and there right next to the giant light-up Jack 'o Lantern were CHRISTMAS trees galore and a display blasting carols. On October 30th. OCTOBER. That's a full 56 days before Christmas. To say something nice about it, MiniLatte did exclaim, "Christmas Tree!," so I can imagine that it's going to be a fun December. Emphasis on December.
    I love, love, love Fall- the colors, the cozy fireside afternoons; baking cookies; pumpkin, vanilla, falling leaves, apples.... I like to celebrate those little things before I jump into full-swing Christmas. Maybe it's the fact that we've only had one week of Fall so far here (70 on Halloween, and then 50 the next day followed by the first storm- seriously, a late Fall) and I'm a bit behind schedule. (Um, yes, carved pumpkins done exactly one doorbell ring into the trick or treaters!) or the fact that I was used to a delayed start on Christmas until after college finals. (It doesn't matter that excuse is losing merit so five years ago!)  I just can't relate to Christmas preparations before Thanksgiving...
    It's like retail is setting the tone for letting us enjoy the holiday season and each store is trying to one-up the other with it's first Christmas sale. It just bugs me.... and don't get me started on Santa. Jolly Old Saint Nickolaus was already sitting court at the mall center court- and it was just November 6th. The mall was already decked out in it's holiday finery (they probably just had Pumpkins and spiders glued to it and ripped it off when the clock chimed midnight on Halloween...) Seriously... Santa... day after Halloween. It just doesn't seem right to me. But it's retail. Now, my mom?
    She has managed to keep the Christmas elf from putting up the tree so far. It might be an argument for her in a week or so, but so far, so good. As for me, I'm digging out the Fall-ish themed decorations and will soon replace the red, white and blue. Just kidding- it's more like bunnies and eggs...