Everything but the kitchen sink.

Last night I went to run the disposal in the midst of doing dishes after dinner; I heard the motor but the water wouldn't budge. Mucky, gray water slowly filled the sink. I called for Honey, who came and immediately told me to get out of the way. [What is it with guys thinking woman have no idea how to fix a house-related problem?] He harumphed and looked and ran the disposal again (which apparently is the Control, Alt, Delete of the kitchen) to no success. I could see exactly where this was going. I was going to be out of a sink for awhile.


I need the kitchen sink. The saying goes "Don't know what you have til it's gone." As I heard Honey shuffling junk under the sink, all the things I needed my sink for flashed before my eyes. A diswasher full of dishes, a counter full of Lovie's bottles, the rest of the food scraps from the disposal floating in the muck. I also realized quickly how difficult it would be to make coffee, umm I mean bottles, without a sink. Ugghhh. I knew how much Honey DID NOT want to be working on this project. He had a rare night off, only to be plunged under the counter. He did what I assume all guys did to solve a house problem. He called his dad. After his dad's idea deadended Honey suggested I call my stepfather. At this point I politely [read: rudely and with attitude] asked him to call a plumber.

I am happy to report that I am typing away to the sounds of the dishwasher. The plumber came this afternoon and $150 and one P trap later I have a functional kitchen once more. Many thanks to Honey for putting up with my crap, this and every other time, and to Neil, our lovely plumber who shows up and makes it all better.

My iPod understands me.

The other day I hopped in the car with Lovie and headed for a drive. As usual, after starting up the car and before backing out of the driveway, I turned on the iPod. Lately, I've put my listening pleasure in the iPod's hand and hit the Shuffle button. About a year ago I used Shuffle for the first time because I wanted to see how long it would take to shuffle through all my songs. It took almost four months. Since then, Shuffle has been a trusted friend. It's like listening to Cora Radio. All my songs, randomly selected just for me. On that ride with Lovie it occurred to me that the iPod understood me. This particular day I was feeling pretty mellow and Lovie was asleep. The iPod played all the mellow tunes: Indigo Girls, Ben Harper, Paul Simon. The day before when I needed to rev up my energy level my iPod shuffled to Matchbox Twenty, Nine Inch Nails, and Gwen Stefani. It seems the iPod never lets me down. I wonder what the iPod will play when I've decided I don't want to listen to anything? Silence?

Me time?

Before Lovie was born, I used to think it so strange when mothers said they had no time for themselves. How could that be I wondered? They had husbands who seemed to be equal partners and good fathers. What was stopping them from devoting a part of the day to their own individual pursuits? Then I became a mom. Now I get it.

As a married, no kid lady I had it made. I could get up when I wanted, eat when I wanted, shower without of the soothing sounds of the canned music from the bouncy seat. I could even leave the house to run up the street without lugging a kid in a car seat and all her accessories. Pre-Lovie I was an alone time kinda girl. I thrived on it. My husband, Honey, understood this and accepted it. Now that she is here I find alone time is a thing of the past. Honey is a great husband and an amazing father. That being said, he has left the house with Lovie by himself 2 times total. When he is home I find it hard to leave because I value the time we have as a family so much. I end up sitting on the couch watching Lovie coo at Honey when I really should put on my sneakers and head to the gym. Or even walk upstairs and read a book. [Just an aside: no one tells you that reading anything other than baby care books is not allowed. Be forewarned.] After Lovie is asleep, rather than have quality time with Honey, or again-take time to myself, we end up half asleep catching up on DVRed TV shows.

I don't really think there is a solution to my problem. It's really not a bad problem to have. In the grand scheme of things anyway. I do need to remind myself however that I value myself as a person as much as I value my family. The mother must mother herself. To that end, tomorrow I am going chat, eat, and most importantly laugh at the monthly dinner with the girls. Lovie will be coming with me. Hey, it's a start, right?

New Year's Resolution

Last Monday was my (ahem) 32nd birthday. Or as my friend Deb likes to call it: The 3rd anniversay of my 29th birthday. Big things happened this year. It was a year ago on my birthday I found out I was pregnant. Nothing prepares you for the life changes that await you with becoming a mother.

My little Lovie's birth gave me a wake up call that while I don't want to be a SAHM, I don't want to keep up with the "real" job either. So, I decided not to wait until January to make a New Year's resolution. Basically, now that my birthday has passed, this is a new year for me. My resolution wasn't to lose weight or work out more (although my extra 20 lbs might disagree). In fact, I resolved to blog. Daily. This is the short term goal that will hopefully get me to the long term goal of writing a book. The craziness of life is getting in the way of me writing and that needed to change. This seemed to be the quickest way to make that happen. Hopefully, the simple act of blogging will make ditching the "real" job a reality. (Insert wishful thinking here.) Now, ask me home many times I've blogged since I made this resolution. You guessed it...once. Isn't that what New Year's resolutions are all about: making them and then failing to make them happen? My plan is to change that. Wish me luck!