nine months for life

Amy tagged me.
I am game.
But I need to have some fun. Cause I think “Real Moms Have Fun” ;)

This is what Wikipedia says a MEME is:

“Proponents of memes suggest that memes evolve via natural selection — in a way very similar to Charles Darwin’s ideas concerning biological evolution — on the premise that variation, mutation, competition, and “inheritance” influence their replicative success. For example, while one idea may become extinct, other ideas will survive, spread and mutate — for better or for worse — through modification.”

I love the “mutation” bit. Here is my attempt to mutate this “Real Mom” meme into a “Mutated Real Mom Meme” :

1. Real Moms don’t flinch when they talk about boobs. They do make you laugh your brains out.

2. Real moms go on vacation. Real moms go on vacation and learn to play traffic cop.

3. Real moms brag about their kids

3. Real moms do not mince words when they present the truth.

4. Real moms juggle

5. Real moms “resist the guilt and embrace the journey”

6. Real moms don’t give a damn to media generated Mommy Wars.

Gotto Love it!

The “Department of Homeland Sanity” has issued a sleep deprivation alert. The quiet terror of sleep deprivation is starting to have irreversible effects in the “mother”land. The Department hopes that by defining deprivation levels and issuing alerts, the nation will be more prepared to handle an unforeseen attack.

LOW : I am not very sure why this level even exists. Parents, by definition, are always on this level. “LOW” sleep deprivation implies you are having the best time of your life. You cannot do much better than this.

GUARDED : At this level of sleep deprivation, you are mildly troubled. This is when you forget to take your wallet to the store. Or your stylish hobo handbag to work. You may socialize, but do so cautiously.

ELEVATED : Now, you are getting into the danger zone. At this point you are getting rather unfit to socialize. I suggest you keep away from folk unless they are sleep deprived parents themselves …in which case they won’t know any better ;). Normal human beings will repeatedly ask you if you are okay when you are in an “ELEVATED” state. Ignore them since they mean no harm. You have bigger things to worry about from this point on ….

HIGH : Not good. Not good. Try to do everything possible to prevent yourself from getting here. At this point you are not getting more than an hour of sleep in one stretch. You are going on less than 3 hours sleep every night for at least 4 nights in a row. Not at all good. You tend to wonder where your office is. You consistently walk out into the wrong floor at work. If you are anything like me, you will hold your key to your door and hope the door opens (much like holding your work badge to the sensor).

SEVERE : You are delirious. You are almost dangerous. You are unfit to take care of your child. You will probably cry at the drop of a hat. Your marriage could be in trouble. Your spouse does not know you, your dogs don’t recognize you… What the heck! You don’t know yourself anymore. I suggest you take a sick day at work.

What level are you at today? Any fond memories of sleep deprivation?

I’d be lying if I say that I was not worried about how our doggies would react to the new baby. The dogs had been our babies so far and I could not imagine that a new human baby would come into our lives. I had heard that whether we like it or not (of course, we would like it ;)), the new baby would soon become the center of our lives (owing mainly to the fact that the baby would be totally dependent on us for every single thing for the next so many years). The side effect? Doggies (no, not the cat) would go lower in the totem pole. And stay there. It hurt in the pits of my stomach.

While the dogs have done great with the baby since the day she was born, there was something amiss. I could not say what. In dog terms, I thought that perhaps we were all still not part of the same “pack” . Perhaps I was right….

I had heard about the benefits of having animals while bringing up babies. Kids that have grown up around pets tend to have lesser allergies (look at me..I cannot even fake an allergy ;)). They end up being more tolerant, compassionate and considerate (look at me ;)…alright, not the tolerant bit :)). It will be a while before I can test these theories with my own little one, so I paid little attention to them. As of a few months back, I really did not see how the pets+kids combo did much else besides generate more work ;)

But NOW it is a whole new story. Sorry, but I have to gloat. Life has been so much fun the past few weeks (barring the sleep deprivation, of course), I just HAVE TO talk about it.
Little “S” will laugh loud and happy when she sees the doggies (and the cat). She loves it when we carry her and run with the dogs in the back yard. She has figured out the she can roll all around from one dog to the other when she is on the floor of the great room. She will “talk” to them since she has figured that they “respond” to her. Charlie very often comes and sits right by her too. Iris, he crazy one, will bring her tennis ball and put it in front of her. Lucky (the cat) will come by and rub his head against her hand …and she will promptly respond by holding his ears and trying to eat him ;) … ( I know what you folk without pets are thinking ;) …NO, we folk with pets really do not let our babies EAT our animals ..so you rest easy there !)

It has been just six months since we had “S” and we are back to being a family again …sitting around together, eating together and playing together. Very soon, we will be going on walks together (will spring ever be here ???).

One happy family …just bigger but back in action!

Stranger Anxiety is hitting my little one big time. Isn’t it too early for that? What does a 6 month old understand? Yeah right!

It did not take very long for us to realize that we need to come up with a survival kit for friends and family that come home. We had to or very soon we are bound to be devoid of any social life whatsoever.

So, all ye who cometh, please arm yourself with these and you might survive the screaming horror.

1. Dogs: Bring a dog or two. Or a cat. She loves them. She will love you.

2. Your cell phone: If you cannot rent a dog, make sure you bring your cell phone (what is it with kids and phones!!). The cell phone does not guarantee you the length and quality of time that a dog/cat would, but you can get by. She loves them …the buttons on your phone. I *think* she prefers a flip phone ;)

3. A Tag Blanket: Don’t even worry about bringing a toy for her, cause it is really the tag she cares about. Tela from WMAG discovered Taggies - a toy company. Don’t go out an buy a Taggie toy either, just any thing with a tag will do.

4. Your acting skills: Barring the physical props, I have noticed that singing/dancing/acting skills go a long way. Exaggeration is the name of the game. Do learn up some nursery rhymes. She has a wide range she recognizes but the spider song is her favorite.

5. A bottle of wine: This is really for the hardworking and sleep deprived parents ;). Assuming you are a incredible hit with my little one, the dad and I will enjoy a little relaxation, while you “enjoy” our little one.

Please come home. You are welcome any time!

It seems to be getting as easy at that for Angelina Jolie! She seems to have figured out how to adopt superfast!

As a little girl I always wanted to grow up and have a family full of kids from all over the world. Asia, Africa, the Americas ..you name it. According to me, I would not only be saving kids from all around the world, but I would also be living a rich and fulfilling life. As a litte girl, the prospect of growing up and having a huge family from all over the world just sounded way too exciting.

Oh well, I am now all grown up. My dream remains the same, but there is too much reality tied to it. And I am way too old to believe that my dream might still come true at all. Where is the money? Where is the time(this is less of an issue, since I am in control here)? Who is going to let me have all those kids? I am having all these adult issues now. And what about the wait and the money it takes to just adopt? How can you have a child and not send him/her to college?

See, that is why I am so jealous of my dear friend Angie. She travels all over the world and brings kids home. She gets to hang out with Brad and even have his child ;) … Really really unfair. Honestly, does Angie have time to do this?

Are there more people out there that feel the way I do or is it just me? Does anyone know if people would get paid to adopt kids? Angie, if you are reading this, can you share some of your money so I can travel with you, do good around the world and adopt some kids of my own? On more thought, would you just like to adopt me???

Sara of the Juggle asks her readers: Would different choices earlier have made your juggle (managing career+family) easier?

Besides being informed, I am not sure anything else would have made my Juggle easier.
I have not heard anyone say, “I did 1,2,3,4 and 5 …and really, my childrearing has been such a breeze!”.

I am not so sure. I am not even sure that the question Sara asks makes much sense at all.

Here is why …

I really think it is the choices that I now, AFTER I have started my juggle, that have the power to make all the difference. It is the little things. It is about making decisions that let you enjoy your “today” and your babies, dogs and spouses that make all the difference. It is all about realizing where to draw the line. It is about accepting the fact that you are not a superhuman.
EVERYONE can juggle, but is everyone a super juggler? Is everyone with a seemingly super juggling act actually happy and content?

After all, it is not about the juggle …it is about enjoying life and sooner or later the juggle will take care of itself.

Khakis are totally me.
Khakis are the most non-judgmental clothes you will find.
They don’t care that you have sore boobs and itchy skin.
They will try their hardest to make you feel good.
I cannot wait to get my hands on a pair of boyfriend trousers.
The ad is pretty cool too.

No, GAP did not pay me to write this ;)

If there is anything called a “New Mom Syndrome”, I think I have certainly fallen prey to it. Alas, I am like every other new mom although it has taken me a few months to accept it ;). In my past life (before-baby as in BB), I wondered why women who became moms did the things they did. I am now guilty of a number of new-mommyisms myself and here goes my list of confessions:

* I cut my hair. As soon as I was back home from the hospital and could say day apart from night, I went out and cut my hair. That does not mean I know why women who just popped babies do that, however.

* Way too many new moms I have know run marathons. I guess this has to do with trying to clear the chaos in our brains ;). I have always been a yoga kind of person but one morning I woke up and just felt this incredible urge to start running …maybe I will run a 5K or two this year ….

* Turn to food for solace? I rarely ate for comfort before, but now I am always famished, always hungry and can always use some butter and dessert with my meals.

* Okay …I love to talk about my baby. And yes, I do it in the hallway, in the cafeteria, in my office, on the road …even with strangers at the stores and the post office! Yuk!

* I have fallen in love with oatmeal all over again. But slowly I am learning that Oatmeal is the only thing that sticks by me, through thick and thin …

* I thought I would die of less sleep and my body and mind would just shrivel and disappear, but my “system has learnt to handle it” …like so many parents told me their systems did when they had their little ones .

* I also thought I would die if I did not get my retail therapy at least once every 2 weeks. Strangely, I am very alive and kicking …the fact that I dress like a mess is another story ;)

* This one hurts ;) …but I have got to admit that I look at baby pictures at work.

I can go on less sleep but I really need to curl up now …

Later Gator!

Look what our little one made for us for Valentine’s Day!

Okay, okay … “A” made it.(Her sweet little daughter helped her as well) “A” is the wonderful person who takes care of Savi when I am at work. She is truly awesome. I know that she is great cause I *feel* it …in my gut. My 5 month old does not say much but she sure is all smiles when she sees “A”. I know my little one is in safe hands because I actually work when I get to work. As a matter of fact, the minute I get back into my car after dropping Savi off with her, I am already thinking work. She has got to be really good for me to be able to do that!

I go to get my little one the day after Valentine’s and I am showered with gifts and this card (…and diapers ! I also had to borrow diapers from A, but that is another story :)) . “How spoilt am I!”, I thought. Here were people doing wonderful things for my little one and me while all I was doing was obsessing about the snow storm and my workplace! (Btw, things are changing rapidly at my work…will post an update soon ;)).

It occurred to me that it was too late for me to rectify the fact that I did not have anything for A or her little daughter(she gave me the cutest hearts she cut all by herself because I am her “friend”) or for “H” (A’s sitter helper who also gave Savi a gift!). Do I respond with a “Belated Valentine Gift”? Sounds way too weird and honestly, I have never heard of that ;).

Oh, and what about all my other valentines? My one chance to express how grateful I am to them and I had just blown it!! What do I do??

I have given up thinking. I am going to thank them right here, right now. These are the folk that I think about and wonder what I would have done without. They are truly my “family”. They are vital to helping this pseudo single mom (husband travels ALL the time) survive …and survive pretty well ;)

Thanks to “L”(Doggie daycare) for taking care of my babies for years. I know that my puppies love her to death and we are in love with “L” for life. She is also our our prime doggie consultant and truly understands what our dogs mean to us. “K” (dog walker) is our latest wonderful addition to our dog family. “J” is my dear friend that Charlie is smitten by. “J” is the family favorite :). She does not have to do anything …she makes all the difference just by being. Some wonderful people at work, particularly “R” and “T” who remind me repeatedly that they are right there if I should ever need anything. (And look, the first names of all these folk start with unique alphabets …weird coincidence :))

What would I do without these people? I wonder. I don’t know. I don’t want to know :)

As I sit here typing this, Savi is “talking” to get my attention and Charlie is nuzzling me to be let out. I got to go. But thank you!!

There was life before the nine months and now there is life.
End of story.