longing for time together

If you are a mother, you probably count the minutes to the moment in which your little one wakes up, so you can snuggle with him/her, and you count the minutes to the moment you return home where you can wait for the return from day care. From the moment I arrive at work, I count the seconds until I get to go home. I usually arrive before Maya and Eric arrive, and it is always so much fun to hide behind the door, see how Maya looks around and then pop in front of her. There is always a moment of pause. As if her eyes need a second to focus on the person who is standing in front of her and then......BAM! A huge smile, legs banging, arms shaking, and the desire to talk! It is my absolute favorite moment. Nobody. Has. Ever. Been. So. Happy. To. See. Me! We then snuggle. Play. Change. and go out for a walk. Today this is what we saw.

We walked for an hour. It was such a perfect walk. It is such a wonderful feeling to have such a curious human being. Her stares and head turns make me notice things that have not noticed before or I had forgotten about!

Once at home, the evening routine began, except that we were about 30 minutes behind schedule. Thankfully, I am not strict with time. Maya and I stopped at our HOA meeting (probably the last time I ever go! They only argued!) While eating, and while Eric was feeding Maya, I managed to squeeze in a small art project! And the irony....melamine was used!

This is the easiest thing that everyone can do it! Melamine plate and a clock from Target! Less that $10! I will add a couple smaller plates soon but in the mean time....our dining room has a dressed clock!

Happy Thursday everyone!

7:20am. Saturday.

It is 9.30pm and it feels as if it is midnight. Baby and dad are sleeping and I am watching TV. Time for myself? Kind of. My mind cannot relax as I try to find the last ounce of energy to complete one more task for the day. The problem? There are too many tasks that need completion. So, I can predict that I will just lie on the couch and let the tiredness take over until bed time. Nevertheless, my Saturday was filled with chores and many completed task....and even a nice break...with cappuccino!

{This is actually made with Almond Milk, as I am off dairy for a while...delish nonetheless!)


After waking up at 7:20, after cleaning up, fixing the curtains, organizing my jewelry closet, and having breakfast, Eric went to Costco and Maya and I started walking towards Panera to meet with some friends. It took us 40 minutes to get there (in time for Eric to come back from Cotsco and meet us there). It was hot. But it was a great walk. By 11.45 we were home. Maya was sleepy and fell asleep for two hours...hence my cappuccino break above. 
Oh ya! Lunch was awesome too. I made this

{Grilled salmon salad with nectarines. Balsamic vinegar and Ezekiel bread}

Once awake it was time to get ready for a bday party!
 

{Maya with her curiosity look at the bday party in here Italian dress}

{Maya and I at the bday Party} Before leaving for the party, I managed to add one more thing to my plate (no pun intended)

{Zucchini Chips. Just thinly slice zucchinis, brush with olive oil. bake 225 degrees for 2 hours}



Oh Ya! This week is spaghetti squash week! Maya is in for a treat!


How do you relax during your weekends.

Happy Relaxing!

I am no Hippie Mom....

....but I have my limits! Maya has been on solids since she was 5 months old. She is of a ....let's say...chunkier size and has no problem trying new foods. We started with squash, then sweet potatoes, then pumpkin, carrots, and green beans. We are now on peas. She also eats oatmeal cereal at night. But, I was reading the ingredient of the oatmeal cereal and it seemed that there was every single possible vitamin but no oats. So I thought....can I make my own? I called the pediatrician. PAUSE: Let's talk for a second about the pediatrician. If you are expecting, my suggestion is to go and interview different offices, to see which one fits your expectations. Our pediatrician's office is awesome. They have an advice nurse line...I call it all the time..mainly because Julie, my favorite call responder, is so sweet to talk to and she is always so encouraging. But anyway, I love the fact that they have an advice nurse line. Now back to homemade cereal. After I talked to Julie, and she said, YES! You can make your own cereal, I decided to make brown rice for Maya's dinner. I started with this:

I boiled it. and boiled it. and boiled it until it became mooshy mooshy. Then I placed in the food processor for some pulsing. Just to mash it a little bit. And it looked like this

 It was a fun process, and I did feel I was preparing something more nutritious for Maya. Of course, she loved it! The texture was something new, and you could totally see that her taste buds were on a discovery spree. She had fun!

Do you have a favorite home made baby food? 

Doing it all!

It is amazing how fast time is flying. It seems like yesterday she was just born and now....she is sitting up, making noises, growing a personality and...filling our lives with never-before-felt-emotions.

{product alert: we love our seat cover. It is so plush and comfy, that makes you want to jump in it and get pushed around. Priced at $45(yikes!) it is a great purchase. It allows for less hassle while shopping as you don't have to bring the stroller with you ro the car seat} 

So, yesterday I got home early from work....but I did not pick up Maya. I decided to leave her at the day care so that I could take care of chores at home. Time is money right? Well, since we are paying for her time at daycare, I made sure I took advantage of the free time I had. And I ran! I was a busy bee!

 

Within an hour, I managed to vacuum the main floor, mop the floor, hang two new picture frames and prep for dinner...oh ya!...also sip on my favorite snack...cappuccino!

It is amazing how multitasking one becomes when motherhood kicks in. It is as if, a new gene is transplanted in the body. You become superwoman. SuperMom! Well, this super mom managed to make saffron chicken.

This is such an easy dish. Toss some chicken with onions, salt and pepper, saffron and lemon juice. Bake! TaDah! Yumminess. And since it is an oven dish...while it is cooking you can do the rest of the gazillion things on your list.

However, I do have a secret for doing it all... My secret is called...SuperDad! Once Maya gets home, we usually play for a while, we get chased by dad, and then....it is dad and daughter time. Music is always playing in our home. Paul Simon, the Beatles, Reggae,  and even opera. The two of them dance until Maya rests her head on his shoulders and naps. While they are occupied in their "moment," I cook and prepare whatever needs to be done!

 {she fell asleep with Paul Simon}

Have you ever come home early from work and took care of chores in an incredibly super fast manner?

....the happiest baby on earth..

...lives in my home! It is amazing how easy she has become. I wonder if someone came, while we were sleeping, and switched her. The first month of her life was not this easy, and now...the routine is in place, the laughs are plenty, and the moments of full love and pride are too many to count. Of course, you have to stop, pause and savor those moments. Too often we let the distractions get the best of us. One of my favorite moments of the day, is our morning ride to the daycare. We talk (I talk as if, sooner or later, she will answer by saying "yes, mom, I agree, I too think that this classical melody is beautiful"). We also say prayers, and I get a kick at the fact that she is still wondering how can she see my eyes through two mirrors.

{...mmmm...how can it be?} 

The rest of the day goes pretty much the same. work. work. work. home. play. nap (baby not me!)

And while she naps, we run like crazy to get things ready. Dinner. Maya's dinner. Maya's next day bag. Mommy's pump. Mommy's lunch. Dad's lunch..etc...etc...etc...Lat night on the menu? Black Quinoa with chipotle ground beef and veggies.

These little cubes are packed with flavor. There is no need to add salt or anything else. I used one cube.

Happy Monday!

How do you manage your daily chores while preparing for work?

Mamma took a nap!

A nap sounds good to any person, but when you are a mom, napping is a dream come true. However, this time, my weekend nap was the direct result of every ounce of energy evaporating from my body. Here is why...Maya fell from the changing table this Saturday.

 

Both Eric and I got distracted while standing right next to the dresser, and the next thing we see, is Maya turning and falling! I died. Those seconds of free falling seemed an eternity and while I was waiting for the end of the fall, every possible horrible scenario flashed in front of me. Will I see blood? Is her harm broken? Is the head smacked? is she conscious? As I said...I died!
As I hugged her to comfort her, she wrapped herself around me in the most tender embrace ever, as tears filled her chubby cheeks. Two seconds later, she was all smiles. But it took 30 minutes for my hands to stop shacking.  The event drained me so much that I had to take a nap! It was as if I had gone through an accident.

Mamma Pumped out!

Tuesday was one of those nightmare days for any mom that nurses and pumps! Since the birth of Maya, I had to get used to my breast pump being attached to my hip wherever I go. I am sure you have seen it before....one of these...

It has become my frenemy! I am not sure whether I should be thankful for such an invention or whether I should give in to the strong desire to smack it against the wall. Regardless, every day, packing the breast pump, is just another routine thing I do. So on Tuesday, while at WORK, it is time to pump. I have exactly 10 minutes. I plug it in and....nothing! No suction. WHAT!??? I check everything. The connection, the suction cups, the bottles, the plus...still no suction. It was as if it was laughing in my face, while the clock was ticking. I look at it closing and I see that one of the plastic flaps had torn! NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Now what? I panicked. Panicked. I started sweating and all I could think of was that Maya would not have milk the next day. So I packed everything, intercomed my boss and asked if I could go home because of an emergency and that I would have worked from home. Thank God for the best boss ever!  What would you have done if you could not have left work?
I ran home, changed the plastic flap and, lo and behold, "Houston we have suction!" Pfiuuuu!
Lesson learned!



Mamma's Tip: Bring spare parts with you at all time when dealing with electronics on which you depend!!

Medela Breast Pump review: although I have a love/hate relationship, the pump has turned out to be quite good. It better, right? since it costs $300. Nevertheless, it is a good product. It carries like a work bag and no one knows that I carry a breast pump with me. It is fairly roomy so I can also carry in it my wallet, keys and cell. If you buy it at Babies R Us, you can use the coupons that they have and save a whole bunch. Mine, with all the coupons, came down to $160. Anyway, I give it four stars! Happy pumping!