Sleep Deprived

At least someone at our house is sleeping well!

I was prepared for a lot of things as a new mom: not showering every day, unofficial yoga pants dress code (score!), dirty diapers galore, spit up on everything I own, lots of visitors and endless bottles to prepare and clean. But I can honestly say, I was not prepared for the lack of sleep that comes with having a baby. I mean, I KNEW I wasn't going to be sleeping much but I didn't know how little I would be sleeping or how it would affect every aspect of my life.  10 weeks of sleeping only 3-4 hours at a time has definitely taken its toll on me.

Now, I could manage a little bit when I was home because I could catnap during the day. But being back at work has put a stop to that (although, it is tempting to just lay in the floor of my office around 3pm). Emily is ALMOST sleeping through the night and has started waking up at 4/4:30am. Which is 1) awesome that she is sleeping 6-8 hours at a time 2) crappy because a 4 am feeding doesn't leave much time to get back to bed before we have to get up and get ready for daycare and work. Plus she is still sleeping in her bouncy seat beside our bed (she will only sleep in her crib for 2 hours-MAX). I'm such a light sleeper that I always end up getting up with her because I hear her first (There is a very strong possibility that Randy is tricking me and making me think he is still asleep by being so quiet and still. And if so, I hope you enjoyed that extra snooze time because there will be a price to pay!).

So, alas, here we are stuck in a sleep derived state. Which is not at all fun, but there have been some funny moments (I can laugh about it now), like the time I....

• Woke up from a dead sleep and yanked the small pillow Randy sleeps with out of his arms (thinking it was the baby?!?!). He was less than pleased to wake up that way.
• Put a dirty spoon in the oven (thinking it was the dishwasher).
• Got dressed for work....sans underwear.
• Made it to work (on time!) to realize I had a baby sock stuck the the bottom of my high heel.
• Made several typos in work e-mails (whoops!):  "as far as reporting toes" instead of "as far as reporting goes" and....the worst of all..."pubic" instead of "public".
• Picked up Emily's bottle to drink it, think it was my bottled water. I realized what I did BEFORE I actually put it in my mouth, thank goodness. Yuck!
• Changed Emily's diaper (forgetting to fasten one of the tabs) only to have my lap, couch, and floor covered in pee minutes later.
• Rubbed nail polish remover instead of astringent all over my face (Hello! They are the same color liquid!).

As awful (or awfully hilarious) as these moments are, I consider each of them badges of honor that I wear proudly as a reminder of what I've survived as a new parent. And although I don't look forward to many more sleepless nights, I do look forward to more great stories as Emily gets older. :)

*M

Meatloaf Recipe

I love this time of year. The weather is finally starting to cool down. Crisp, cool days always inspires me to cook and bake and I'm constantly looking for the best version of a particular recipe. I recently dusted off some of my cookbooks and tried two new recipes (the other to be highlighted in a later post). Both are super easy, yummy and filling...perfect for a chilly fall dinner.

Meatloaf

My husband is a meat and potatoes (and nothing else) all the way kind of a guy. I've made meatloaf before with (what I thought were yummy things) chunks of onions and green peppers and horseradish sauce. Randy was not so much a fan. So this time, I opted for a very paired down version.

What you need:
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup crush Ritz crackers
1 3/4 lbs ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I use dried)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tbl A1

How to prepare:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Combine eggs and milk
• Stir in all ingredients, ground beef last
• Mix well (I always used my hands)
• Put in loaf pan and bake for about 1 hr 20 mins.
• When it looks nice and brown, drain off liquid and let meatloaf cool in pan for 5 mins.
• Use a knife or spatula to make sure edges and bottom are free from pan. Flip upside down onto platter then use another plate to flip it right side up.
• Cut and enjoy!

Note-you can use the liquid you drained off for gravy. But I’m not a huge fan of brown gravy, so I didn’t. Next time I think I will mix up some ketchup and little bit of A1 and use as sauce on top.   

Goes great with mashed potatoes and green beans. Enjoy!

*M

Protecting Our Children

I've got to get something off my chest. It's been bothering me for a while. And the recent "child shaming" story was the last straw.

To parents that degrade, harshly berate, shame and speak awful of their children: what is wrong with you?! You make me sick and you should be ashamed of your behavior. They are CHILDREN. YOU are the adult. What example are you setting?  That it's ok to say hurtful and hateful things as long as it's "anonymous" or in jest? It's NOT ok. Children deserve our love, not to be the butt of some joke.

It makes me cringe to hear parents put down their children. I've read mommy blogs (one in particular) that allows parents to anonymously confess whatever is on their mind. On any given day, there are a handful of moms complaining and saying truly hurtful things about their kids And for what gain? So they can receive affirmation or approval from other parents? And by receiving so many "likes" that they are justified in saying whatever they want?

Look, I realize that adults aren't perfect and will make mistakes. They are most likely going to say something awful in the heat of the moment and will probably regret it before the last word leaves their lips. But whether spoken or written, it can never be taken back.

I also realize that I'm no parent expert 10 weeks into this whole "being a mommy thing." But I have spent almost two decades as a babysitter, camp counselor, church nursery attendant working with kids from a few weeks old to pre-teens. Please believe me, I KNOW kids are not well-behaved 100% of the time. And yes, it can be frustrating when they won't stop screaming in the grocery store isle, roll their eyes and talk back, or prefer to running through the house screaming to sleeping at 11pm. But can any parent say they never did those things? We ALL did. It's a part of being a kid. Hopefully (if we had good parents or guardians), we had someone to put a stop to our behavior by setting boundaries, reasonable punishment, appropriate rewards and good role modeling.

I know my life experience have shaped my opinion on this heated topic.  I'm so happy to finally be a mom after going through one of the most stressful but exciting times in my life: adoption. We worked hard and waited for what seems like a lifetime before holding Emily in our arms. Knowing what it took for us to finally be a family, I cannot imagine mistreating my daughter with my words or actions.

It's been 2 years since our niece, Lauren, passed away after an awful battle with leukemia. What I wouldn't give for her to still be with us. I wonder if parents that say these things about their children would still do it if they knew their child would be gone tomorrow?

So many children in our country already suffer abuse and neglect at the hands of those that are supposed to love and protect them.  Do they really need more?  To parents everywhere: PLEASE, before you take a degrading picture or post a curse filled rant about your children, ask yourself: how am I a better parent for doing this and if my child were to see it, would they feel loved?

*M