Miss Most About StayAtHomeMommying (SAHM)

Some would say I fall into the 'type A' personality category. I would agree with that....

Generally speaking, N brings to the table more of the easy-going/laid-back vibe. You wouldn't know that if you saw his tedious pre/post-work routine. Meticulous.

I miss not having anything 'to do'. M & I used to wake up whenever. Sometimes she would sit up first and smack me to consciousness. Other times I arose and tasked away only to become bored and return to her bedside, rustling so 'the noise' woke her -- subtly. Now I get up to a blaring alarm, leave hurriedly, wait impatiently at red lights (being one of a handful of drivers on the road at 5:45am), and run around a kitchen for 8+ hours. Literally run. Mostly b/c I forgot something in the oven that is 4x2 car lengths away and around the corner from my prep area.

M & I don't putz around much anymore. We don't run errands together (for lack of efficiency). Everything/task I consider now involves some kind of 'and on the way' or 'while you're [N] home' coordination. Much less impromptu. Definitely more of a throwback to N's first two years of med school when I was piggybacking WSonoma with my law gig and then RCarlton pizazz. NOT the way things played out while I stayed at home with the M.

Good and bad, but today I miss the more romantic lifestyle of picking M up whenever I chose and going out for a balloon.

Have Been Up To

Posting on a blog is tough to do when you have a 'real' job! Mothering took its toll on me, but trying to do that while working is borderline impossible without major help. Thank goodness my parents have a truly soft spot for M as they are full-time caretakers of the tyke at this point. I did find a 'mother's day out' program for M to attend come September, so that will take the load off of nai nai and yeh yeh, not to mention give M an outlet for her sociable and outgoing personality.

Speaking of...

Work:

3 weeks in. Things are going as well as they can.

Home:

N and I have split chores and things have tidied up since he keeps up with his regularly. My mom helps a bit with dishes. Not that many since most of our meals are consumed at work. The grocery budget 'should' tighten a bit as we only need to shop for M. Hopefully that will free up resources for other fun things like a gymnastics program for M.

Church:

Need to attend more regularly. Well, we do okay with big church, but not as much with Bible study. N committed to going this week even though I can't (working) and we will do big church on Sat.

N:

Almost done with his ER stink... wow, I meant to type "stint". ER = nocturnal, so when he's done with this leg, he'll be able to spend nights at home and hopefully get back to a more natural sleep cycle.

M:

Growing! Had her first fever, though, lasting for 3 days. Not gaining weight as fast as she is height, but our efforts are not completely fruitless. Relief.

Food:

Love CFilA. Used M as an excuse and had it twice today. Also Sonic's happy hour. 1/2 sweet tea.

Leisure:

Gym attendance has fallen off almost completely. Will try to go 2x this week. That would be 2x more than last. Am reading more, though, so that's a plus! Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale going on now -> money pit. Easy Spirit has these cute shoes on sale. I got them in black/black and as pictured.

Read in the News

The proverbial 'they' found Paul!

Two sources cited:

If you lean right, click here.

If you lean left, click here.

The other 'they' all say the same thing about his remains. N and I thoroughly enjoyed our travels in/about Rome and I definitely would love to go back sometime with or without kids. We did Rome towards the end of our Italy tour, and I don't think I had enough mental stamina left to really focus. It's hard to believe Paul's remain were there this whole time just hanging out and waiting for someone to come across them.

Happy Feasting of Sts. Paul & Peter! The NSB family-ette will enjoy our regular Pizza Night thanks to PJohn's take-out deal on large, single topping pies. I always pick up a (free) Sunday HChronicle too...for the coupons.

p.s. my shorts are back to $15, but the ONavy site's running a 25% off promo for cardholders through Thursday.

Overpaid For

Really, did I pay too much for these shorts?

I snagged them for $15 and now they are a cool $8 at least online. Oh well! If you're looking for something fun that goes between navy and black, I recommend these.

Have For Breakfast

My favorite breakfast/brunch thing (that is doable at home) consists of a whole wheat or everything bagel, full fat cream cheese, red onion, cherry tomatoes, capers and smoked salmon of the sockeye variety. I LOVE this meal and could eat it everyday. I've had it 3 days in a row now, once for lunch.

We don't have a toaster as we purged our previous one amidst moving. I don't mind the absence since our counter space seems more limited these days. I pop my 1/2 bagel onto a sheet pan and into the oven and broil it. I actually like this method a lot as the top of the bagel gets crunchy/toasty while the remainder of it stays nice and fluffy. The bagel doesn't risk drying out, however broiling can go quickly -- I had to scrape off some burnt bits today as I tried to ready Mad's breakfast and mine simultaneously.

Anyhow, I've never done a calorie count on this meal, but figure that it keeps me pretty full and after I've had it, there's nothing that I want to munch on b/c the deliciousness of the bagel ensemble cannot be matched. I also ate this all the while during M's incubation period to ensure she would one day love it too. Yum.

Ran out of sockeye and N had the last of my bagels, so I must gather today so as to secure ingredients in time for tomorrow's bagel episode. Per friend M's suggestion, will try the iced chai at the mecca. A toast to her and B for the baby BOY news!

Deem Newsworthy

Okay. MJ passed and it's sad. But that's how things go, no? My discussion w/N about it went something like this:

A: i mean, he had to die somehow. and really, don't you think celebrities get caught up in a dramatic lifestyle and they are more apt to pass 'tragically'?

N: he was the king of pop. the KING of pop. all time highest sellers: Elvis, the Beetles, and MJ.

A: okay. i guess i didn't really grow up w/ his stuff.

N: how about this one, do you remember ___? (music playing)

A: no.

N: that's what we performed at my elementary graduation. (waving arms)

A: oh.

N: how about this one, do you remember ___? (music playing)

A: uhm, no.

(repeat quizzing and negative response 3x)

I am a little miffed that ALL the news channels feel the need to run marathons about his life/death. And the 911 call, which didn't seem special.

A: i mean, it's not like he's princess di.

N: (no comment or response)

The real tragedy is if Farrah's family/relatives thought they were going to get a lot of press about her passing -- that they have been overshadowed.

N: that's a pretty bad way to go. i mean, make something up. just call it cancer. you don't need to be specific about the kind, especially since it was that. (sort of guffaws)

The real news is that I tried spinning for the first time yesterday after a weight-lifting class. My bum hurts like it's bruised. Speaking of bruises and general discomfort, N injured his arm while playing bball. Can't lift M. Can't really hold anything either. Perfect! I think it's a hairline fracture. He doesn't know what to think after googling his symptoms. He went to a dr. and didn't get an x-ray. Really, now, who's the MD here?

And I checked out Gap's in-store jeans promo:

Please note, I just purchased a replacement pair the other day (4 days ago) with a coupon, but definitely spent more than $20. Of course, I had my bargain-alert on and asked about a possible price adjustment. Nope, not on the style I picked as it is excluded from the sale. Oh, and the two pairs I chose for N were excluded too. Since N likes ONavy jeans and I'm still shedding weight, this sale is definitely passable. (If you think you might need jeans after the promo, you can always stock up now and return or exchange later. There's a 30 day refund policy, but after that it's store credit. You can exchange sizes within the same style/color anytime as long as they're still available.)

Allegedly, Gap's redoing their entire jeans line. Sounds enticing. Who wouldn't love to downgrade from designer prices so long as the product is similar?

Am Getting For Free!

Another freebie magazine offer, this time for 2 years! Parents. May not be of interest to most of my friends, but it works for me.

Again, no credit card info solicited so I signed up and we'll see what happens.

Get it here.

Am Getting For Free!

4 issues of Oprah's O Magazine. A former housemate and friend of N's assured me these deals really are free -- you just need to cancel your subscription before they start charging you for it. This registration didn't ask for any billing info, so they won't be able to charge me automatically. I'm still putting the call-back-to-cancel date in my iCal just to be sure.

Here's the link.

I like O and hope that my subscription will run something between August and December (with possible processing lag time). I enjoy holiday magazines for gift suggestions and wrapping/decor trends.

Tonight we head to Chick-fil-A for 'family night' during which M will enjoy her bi-weekly waffle fries and nuggets. They've hired a clown and arranged for face painting and chichos. Surely there will be plenty of other kids around to keep M busy and socially engaged. I originally planned on a burrito night, so we'll see how things play out.

Can't Understand

I don't dabble in reality TV much aside from Extreme Makeover-Home Edition (one of N's indulgences) and The Amazing Race. Oh, and The Biggest Loser, which I watch all the while wanting a bag of Doritos and vat of sour cream to dip them in. I usually flip to the Food Network or TLC as a white noise back-up channel hoping to strike Ina or What Not to Wear. Or Jon&Kate+8. All this talk about marriage trouble piqued my interest and I tuned in to their episode this evening alongside N as we transitioned M to bed.

WT_?!

I can't stand them. I hoped they would call the show quits or take some kind of sabbatical, but....

N: Where is the talk about God and love? And remember when they went to church?

N: What's with his earrings?

(scenes from Season 1 flash by)

N: Do you see that? She used to be like a mom and now she's a diva. She loves the camera.

We missed the first 15 minutes or so (busy w/M) but I put it back on again during its encore presentation to fill in any gaps - 10pm our time. I pointed out all these catty things Kate said about Jon as N had originally placed all the blame on Jon for wimping out of his marriage. N still maintains that Jon is a wimp.

N is not a wimp. We have had so many hiccoughs along the way and I even went through a silent phase last week (I tend to stop talking/shut down when disgruntled) only for me to communicate them via email yesterday. N usually addresses my 'concerns' within the day and we then move on. I don't even realize that I am bottling until N brings it to my attention, so kudos to him for manning up to our issues and uncorking my effervescence. Every now and then I wonder if he will reach his capacity, but he hasn't yet and assures me this is how our relationship 'works'.

It sounds terrible that we resolve our differences via email, but that seems to work for me and I can't talk things out in real time b/c I get overwhelmed with N's questions to the extent that I feel like I'm being attacked. N's very persistent and can argue for the sake of arguing. Me, not so much. I just clam up. So email works for me -> us.

And WT_ with all the "my kids" or "for me" or "I" business?

WT_?!

On a lighter note, I caved and got a Gap CCard. I buy 92% of N & M's clothing at GapInc. that I probably should have done it a long time ago. Since I started my 1-for-1, I did pick up a few long-wanted items -- 2 new sports bras to replace the ones pre-M and a pair of my favorite jeans in a smaller size b/c I either got smaller or the jeans stretched beyond wearable status.

The shopping since our move is a bit out of control, but 'needs' to be done since I START WORK next week. Need to sign and mail in my contract....

Make for Dinner

M and I went to the mecca today. By mecca, I mean HEB's Central Market. Picked up a green chicho and some items to pair with our award-winning steak (the cow our steak is from won 2nd place at the Rodeo this past year). And other foodstuffs for the Bulk Up Maddy Movement (BUMM) going on indefinitely.

A while back, my friend H asked me for my mashed potato 'recipe'. As I don't follow those when at home, I wasn't able to provide one at the time. I'll include general 'guidelines' as to what I do to potatoes to make them mashed.

Skin-on Mashed Potatoes

stock pot

standing mixer (bowl, flat beater)

6 yukon golds

heavy cream

unsalted butter (land o lakes)

olive oil/garlic melange

coarse salt (baleine)

washed yukon golds into stockpot w/ enough water to go two inches above spuds.

boil -> lower heat to simmer -> continue simmering until potatoes are easily pierced; skins should crack.

potatoes into mixer w/ flat paddle w/ 2 tbs pot water -> speed 2-3 -> add 1/4 cup cream -> add 1 tbs garlicky olive oil -> add 1-2 tbs butter.

add salt to taste.

the amount and variety of fat will change greatly based on taste, general size of the potatoes. N likes his buttery, salty and not garlicky at all. Me? Well, as usual, I take mine not as buttery or salted but very garlicky. I usually make two different batches of everything for me/N.

The only MUST in this recipe is the variety of potato. Yukon golds are great mashers -- thin skinned and buttery colored. Russets are too thick-skinned/big/dry/fluffy and don't boil well. Reds are not starchy or fluffy enough. I don't know much about white potatoes....

Instituted & Bought

(Old Navy: Women's Shorts now $10+)

Now that N and I are settling, we get to do fun things like reorganize closets, dressers, and drawers. I have a new clothing policy in effect as medical school loans and moving has taught me that I can live with much less.

One-for-one, as my friend D termed it.

Effective immediately.

I don't normally wear shorts outside the gym, but we now reside in TX AND ONavy had a promo AND we have an(other) event to attend tonight for N's new gig. On the menu: fajitas. Attire: casual. I don't have 'event' casual. I have 'M spits up' casual, i.e. workout clothing a la Llemon and 'church' casual -- solid tops/pants that I mix&match with varying accessories to add variety.

So, for the loss of one KCole camel colored coat purchased in 2001, I bought these $15 ONavy shorts:

They look great with my recently purchased JCrew top (grandfathered in pre-shopping policy, but still on sale):

Would not classify this as 'church' casual as it is too breezy of an outfit, but here's hoping I'll get wear out of it as summer never ends in these here parts.