What kind of mom are you?

I watched this video twice in a row because I thought it was hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikvcS3Oe-oA&feature=player_embedded

I don't know what's funnier - the dialogue between the two moms, or the fact that I could see parts of myself in the white mom.  Seriously!  For example, we were co-sleeping with the baby for months, probably 6, because it was easier to nurse at night if he was right next to me, as opposed to me getting up every three hours and running over to his room when he cried.  When he started eating solids, I made all his food.  It wasn't hard.. and I really liked knowing that he was eating wholesome, organic, unprocessed foods (see, like the white mom).  We are working on signing with him and I speak to him in Vietnamese (again, see white mom).

To redeem myself from looking like a psycho first time mom, there are things that I "failed" on, like sleep training the kid.  When he was younger and we were co-sleeping, it was no big deal.  We all went to sleep together and it was sweet.  Then, he started I don't even know what, but he would twist and kick us in his sleep.  Not only that, he would turn his body so that in our cal king bed, he moved in such a way that he would end up being the - (dash) and we would be the two |  | in the letter H.  Funny, yes, but enough was enough.  He took his naps in his crib so I figured that it would be easy for him to sleep in it at night.  When we first started, he would scream when we put him to bed.  I think it's because we weren't on a schedule or had a routine or anything.  Our lives are such that there was no consistency in our days and I think we're lucky the baby is so adaptable, he just rolled with it.  When we started instituting a bedtime routine, he was having none of it.  Cry, cry, cry, scream, scream, scream.  It was the worst and it lasted a month!  After that, when he willingly went to bed at night, he would still wake every 4-5 hours to nurse.  Why wasn't my kid sleeping through the night, 10-12 hours, like all the other moms were talking about?  The doctor said the baby didn't really need to nurse at night anymore and that it was probably just his way to get me to come get him.  I said, no, he really does nurse, and actively so for 10-15 minutes..  Maybe he was on a growth spurt?  Teething?  Who knows.

With his 1st birthday looming in a month, I decided to try to get him to sleep through the night.  Not only that, I was also going to night wean him and instill a routine.  Three tough things, all at once.  It's been about a week, but it's working out great!  After dinner, we play for a bit, he gets a bath, we read a couple of books, sing a few songs, then he gets tucked in.  I ferberized him (which is so painful) and I don't nurse him at night anymore.  I don't know why I waited so long to do all these things.  I'd like to think that it wasn't our time for it, since it all works out in the end.  Being a mom is hard and you just have to do what's best for your family, on your own timeline, crazy moms be damned!

Disneyland!

So we booked our room at the Grand Cal Hotel and Spa in Anaheim for a family trip in October!  I'm super excited.  This will be our first "real" family vacation since Eli was born.  We've had trips here and there, but have always stayed with family or friends.  When we first talked about going to Disneyland, I thought that Eli would be too young to enjoy the place (he'll be 18 months then).  After some deep conversations about starting family traditions and yes we can afford it if we save $130/month, blah blah blah, I was convinced.  Oh, don't let me kid you that the $1000 covers airfare, hotel, tickets, food and fun.  We are lucky enough to be related to some fine folks (shout out to S&K) for allowing us to use their Disney vacation points to get a room at the specific hotel.  They're shareholders or timeshare investors or something like that - with all Disney resorts - so they were able to save us almost $1000 from what it would've cost us if I just booked through Disney itself.  Yay!

I love my family and friends, of whom there are many, who live in SoCal and would have gladly lent us a place to stay during our trip.  But, I felt that being at a hotel steps away from the action would be easier than driving back and forth if/when Eli has meltdowns during the day.  It would also be easy to go back to our room during his naptimes.  And, with a 3- or 4-day park hopper pass (haven't decided which yet), we'll be able to get to everything and share the magic and commercialism of Disney with our kid.  :)

We have RATS!

.. so whispered the bagger to the cashier at Raley's today.  She was bagging our groceries and had picked up the box of frozen waffles.  Ok, quick disclaimer.  This is the FIRST time I have bought frozen waffles in a long time.  I'm going to guess it's been at least 10 years, probably even longer, like way back in college, before I knew better about pre-packaged foods and how it's filled with crap that's not good for you.  Well, I picked a box up today because I had read that frozen waffles are great for teething and guess who is getting 2 or 4 more teeth in addition to his 8?  (I write 2 or 4 because he never opens his mouth all the way for me to actually check for the telltale signs of white stubs.)

So I picked up the box in the freezer section and placed it next to the kid.  He immediately picks it up and starts gnawing on it.  As I'm going through my grocery list, I don't pay any attention to what he's doing.  When I finally take a quick look at him, he's smiling and chewing and immediately, I know he's not going to give up whatever's in his mouth without a fight.  There I am, in the freakin' meat aisle, one hand holding his head with the other hand trying to pry his mouth open.  My finger is trying to sweep his mouth, but he bites down and I'm trying not to scream.  People are looking.  I don't care.  I work hard to make sure he has a good diet and cardboard boxes are not part of any menu.  Finally, I get it out, but then he starts screaming.  I hate the sound of babies crying.  Doesn't matter if it's my own or someone else's.  To diffuse the situation, I push him over to the bread and break off a piece of baguette for him.  Distracted, he happily starts munching on the parmesan herb loaf and all is well.

I forgot about the waffles until I heard the bagger freak out.  I turn to her and say that the only rat is my son.  I hold up the partially bitten apple that he had also gotten a hold of back in produce.  She looks at him, he smiles back, emergency rat situation at the grocery store averted.

Innocence and Evil

They just found the body of a boy they believe to be the missing 4 yr old from Patterson.

News stories like this one always bothered me, but now that I'm a mom, it literally drives me to tears.
Why would anyone be evil enough to take the life of an innocent child?
Was the guy trying to get revenge on the kid's mom?
Why do psychos think that hurting a child would bring about a positive outcome?

Every single day, stories like this one break my heart.  There's the one where a baby was crying too loudly while his dad was playing video games so the dad grabs the baby's arm, breaks it, and shakes the kid so hard he dies. Last weekend, a mom shot her teenage son and daughter because they were being "mouthy" to her.  Now, this sweet boy is gone and his 8-month pregnant mom has to live with the fact that her unborn baby daddy took her son away.  With all this evil against children, I pray their families find comfort in their unbelievable grief.

I know a special baby boy who will get extra hugs and kisses tonight.  Please do the same to your own children.