Big Apple, big plans.

Remember how I said we were planning to move to New York right before we discovered Mr. Levi was on his way? Well, although I wouldn't admit it, I kind of gave of hope of ever fulfilling that little dream. I was secretly majorly bummed.

Buuuut, now there is a beacon of hope! My friend Raquel from New York told me about a job opportunity through the organization she works for, and I have been giving it some serious thought. I won't get into details just yet, but I figured I'd go ahead and apply and take it from there. Since I know Raquel, I have a huge advantage already, but who knows? Job openings are competitive these days. Obviously it would be a *big* move, and I've been weighing the pro's and con's like crazy. The position requires a two year commitment, so I feel like if I'm going to do anything like this, it's kind of a now-or-never type thing. I would probably never consider moving across country on a whim if Levi was in school, unless it meant a huge step up in terms of a career move or quality of life. Even then, I'm not sure I'd do it. So I feel like I have this very short window of time to do something like this while he is still young enough.


I'll give you the details if and when I hear back, but until then, all I'm asking is that you keep me in your prayers, 'cause I'm a little torn. This is something I want so much, but on the other hand it's not just about me anymore. I have a family now, and they come first.


I figure I'd give it a shot and apply, and when (or if ) I hear back, I'll take it from there! Ahhh New York City, I'd love to take a bite outta you!


Here are some pics from our trip to NYC last January...

A subway cat nap

Brooklyn bound! 

Bedford Cheese Shop in Brookyln, whhhhaaaat! So much cheese, so little time.

One of our most memorable nights...discovering a great, obscure little bar on the Lower East Side
and walking home in the snow at 4 a.m. 

Me and Raqs enjoying some happy hour margaritas down the street from her apartment. 

Body Issues

Ooooh dear, here we go. You know, one thing I've learned is that we truly are our harshest critics. Ask any woman what she doesn't like about her body, and you'll likely get a laundry list of "problems" that you, or anyone else for that matter, would have never even noticed.

And I gotta be honest, I've never been really at peace with my body. I've always been too skinny, too tall, my arms and legs are weirdly long and disproportionate to my torso, my head is small, my nose is pointy, my teeth are big. I could go on and on. The point is, there are some things about myself that I really do like, but why do focus so much on what I don't like? Is it just because you just naturally notice more when you have to look at yourself in the mirror everyday of your life? Or it it society and the media's fault with their
'perfect" airbrushed models and actresses plastered everywhere, constantly reminding us of what we are not?

I wish it were easy enough to be reminded that the people in magazines are airbrushed, photoshopped, and that usually it's their job to look good. They have trainers and experts and stylists making sure they look perfect, not to mention the funds to do so.

It's funny how often you get compliments on things that you don't like about yourself. And I also thinks it's interesting how a person's personality can really affect how attractive they seem.

My point of this post is that ever since having Levi, I've been pretty hard on this ol' bod. During my pregnancy I loved the fact that I didn't worry so much about how my actual body looked. I was more concerned with what was happening inside, and how I could take the best care of myself. My body was a vessel and a temple.  Yeah, I hated finding clothes to wear, but that was just more of an annoyance. Nowadays I complain about how I still have a post-baby pooch, my belly button is still popped out (!), and I got visible stretch marks after giving birth (so much for celebrating my no-stretch marks while I was prego). As summer approaches, I've been getting nervous. I guess I look pretty good for having a baby 6 months ago. But the fact is that I feel like now there's even more pressure, that people are looking and judging even more. How many times have you heard people say "wow, she looks good for just having a baby!" or "I can't believe you've had 3 kids!" or "I couldn't tell if she was pregnant again or if she never lost the baby weight from her last one...".  People have expectations, good or bad. Or at least they seem to notice more. Ugh, I don't know. I'm rambling now.

So I'm just going to start trying my best to get over my issues and try to celebrate my body for what it is. It's a good body, really. It housed a growing BABY for 9 months. It labored and changed and did amazing things to give birth. It has nourished and sustained and comforted my baby boy for the past 6 months.



So here's my postbaby tummy, popped out belly button and stretch marks and pooch and all....

The other day I was flipping through a People magazine or something and I saw a picture of Gisele on vacation in a bikini, and guess what I noticed? Her belly button is still popped out too. ♥

Smile! You're on mama's camera...

(Yes, that's my lame attempt at a play on the Candid Camera theme song)


Levi has always been fascinated with cameras. Video cameras, cell phone cameras, web-cams, regular cameras...you name it.  Usually he is so fixated that he stops whatever cute thing he was just doing to stare and try to grab the photo-taking device, making it nearly impossible to capture him at his cutest. About 80% of the pictures on our camera are him half blinking from the flash, a blurry arm reaching toward the lens, or him just staring. But lately he has been hamming it up whenever a camera is pulled out! Yesterday he was sitting on the couch next to Clay and he looked like such a little man, so I went to take a picture and he was just smiling away whenever I held the camera up. Oh, I might also mention that he has to look at the picture in the display screen afterward to see how he looks. He will pull the screen up to his face and stare at his picture.

We decided to test him and talked to him like normal before holding up the camera. Then, we held up the camera and sure enough, SMILE! We have about 10 smiley pics, but I won't bore you with them all. ;)
My kid's a future supastah!

his hair is getting so funny...it's finally growing, but only right on top!

oh yeah, someone is getting ANOTHER tooth in! you can kinda see the two bottom ones :)

reverting back to his usual ways...

A Cure for the Rainy Day Blues

So I'm kind of late posting this, but last weekend was really dark and rainy and all three of us were feeling a bit under the weather. The solution? Make some homemade chicken noodle soup and hunker down indoors!

We made a super delicious soup and Clay's famous grilled cheese sandwiches ( I don't know what it is about them, but somehow he makes the BEST grilled cheeses!!), and I thought I'd share my recipe with you guys. I didn't really follow a "recipe", I just kind of did my own thing and luckily it turned out pretty darn good! Chicken noodle soup is actually surprisingly very easy to make. It would take a concerted effort to mess it up. Perfect for someone like me, who is not always gifted in the kitchen...

 Sooo here we go! I only took a picture of the finished product, but next time I do a recipe I'll take pictures of the process as well :)
Now, the great thing about this (especially for moms like myself who are lazy or short on time) is that you can make this a super fast way, or take a little more time and effort to make it the real way. Even the "slower" way is really simple.  I'll go ahead and show you the fast way and interject with alternative ways you can make it even more homemade.




Ingredients:

- 1 Rotisserie chicken
- 1 package egg noodles (16 oz?)
- 4 cans of chicken broth
- 2 cans of vegetable broth
- 2 or 3 celery stalks
- 2 or 3 large carrots
- 1/2 a red onion
- 1/3 stick of butter
- basil, sage, rosemary, and oregano (or herbs of your choice)
- salt and pepper to taste

This will yield a good amount of soup! We ended up having leftovers for about 5 days. Make sure you have a large pot, otherwise it's going to overflow. I just used a standard large stock pot. You can easily alter the amount of ingredients if you don't want to make as much, or want to make more, or want to add additional veggies... but this is just the recipe as I made it.


Alternative: Instead of buying canned broth and a pre-cooked chicken, you can make your own! Chicken stock is realllly easy to make, it just takes more time. The cool thing is that you just need the same ingredients for the stock as you do for the soup, so no need to buy any extra ingredients! Just buy raw, bone-in chicken (drumsticks would be a great choice) and boil them in water until the meat is cooked through. Take the chicken out and separate the meat from the bone. Put the chicken meat in the fridge. Break the bones in half and put them and any leftover chicken (fat, skin, etc.) back into the pot of water, add celery, onion, carrots, and seasoning, cover, and let them all simmer together for 3 hours. That's it! Now, I've never made vegetable broth before, but here's a recipe that I've found for that, it seems pretty easy.


For the herbs, I just plucked fresh ones from my mini herb garden, but you could also use dried herbs as well.
Also, I am a huge lover of red onions, but if you prefer a different type, use that instead. Personally, I love the spiciness of red onion. 


Directions:

1. Chop up the celery, carrots, and onions.
2. Put the celery, onions, and butter into a large stock pot and let them cook together on low heat for about 3-4 minutes.
3. Next, add all the broth into the pot.
4. Add carrots, noodles, and break up the chicken a bit as you add it to the pot.
5. Stir so that the ingredients are evenly distributed in the pot.
6. Add seasoning, and bring everything to a boil.
7. Once it boils, turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
8. Eat and be merry!

the finished product!

Yucky weather, yummy soup!

Ta-daaaaa! That's all folks! Surprisingly simple, and super delish. Enjoy! If you end up trying this, let me know how yours turned out! :)

The Nap Strike/Half-Birthday/Future Asthmatic

Last week Levi came down with what I thought was his first cold. I know there are a lot of new parents who are  a little paranoid when it comes to their babies, calling the doctor the second their child has a sneeze or a explosive diaper (sorry), but personally, I am not one of them.  Now, obviously if I think something is truly wrong, I will call the doctor. But otherwise my past experiences have showed me that unless it seems vaguely serious, it is usually not worth the hassle of hauling my baby to the doctor without an appointment, waiting in the waiting room with twelve other sick, coughing, loud, germy kids for an hour, and finally being taken to the exam room only to be seen for 2.5 minutes by the doctor and told that "he just needs rest, and continue breastfeeding." Really? Thanks. If my kid wasn't sick before, he probably is now after waiting in that germ infested office forever.

I guess it gives me some peace of mind to know that a doctor has seen him, but still.  I'm such a bad mom. I usually research symptoms myself online and if any of them seem out of the ordinary or he has the slightest fever, then I'll call the doc.

Anyway, Levi came down with the sniffles and a little dry cough last week, so true to form, I researched symptoms online like crazy. It seemed he had a common cold, and since he's been going to daycare for the past couple of months, I was bummed but wasn't surprised.  About 3 days later he was starting to get a little better, and I was happy he was back to normal. Then, all of a sudden, the next day he got worse. A wheezy, phlegmy cough, more snot, irritability, the whole enchilada. So to the doctor we went.


It turns out that my poor bambino has bronchiolitis, the infant version of bronchitis! :(  He has to be on antibiotics and a baby inhaler for the next week. Luckily the doctor didn't seem worried and it was a pretty mild case, but this means that Levi is at risk for having asthma as he gets older. Poor guy. The doctor said that oftentimes a common cold can morph into bronchiolitis and that boys around 6 months old are most susceptible.


Speaking of 6 months old, today is Levi's half birthday (sound the trumpets)!! I can't believe how fast he is growing up. In another 6 months he will be celebrating his 1st birthday. Wooowwwzers! I'm not sure if it's because he is sick, or because he is now half a year old and thinks he is too big for his britches, but this kid suddenly refuses to take a morning nap. Usually he wakes up around 6:30 (ugh) and goes down for a nap around 9:30, but the past few days he flat out will NOT take a nap. He screams bloody murder when I put him down, even though I can tell he is exhausted. I have always put him down for his nap as soon as I can tell he is sleepy so that he doesn't get a chance to become overly tired, but now he just wants to play and hang out with me alllll morning and it's driving me crazy! Sigh, the woes of motherhood.

Happy 6 Month B-day!

Speaking without words

Ok, remember how I said Levi was trying to talk? I have proof! I had to be sneaky with the camera, so sorry if it's not the greatest - of course he ended up spotting it anyway and proceeded to try to grab it, but at least I got a little snippet of the proof I was looking for. We think he is saying 'hi dada"....but even if he's not it's pretty obvious that he is trying to say something! :)

Be a dear and vote for us?

Friday Faves!

This dog.  He is so guilty, the poor guy. If only humans had this much conscience!

Speaking of humans not having enough of a conscience, my car got broken into last weekend! Yeah. I know. Unbelievable.  Of course it's the one time I left my purse in there because when I had gotten home from my niece's birthday party that night I had my hands full with cupcakes, a pizza box, my phone, my breast pump, and the diaper bag. So I left my purse in the car with the intention of going back to get it....hungry baby called and distracted me....hungry baby became sleepy baby and needed to be put to bed....sleepy baby made exhausted mommy also want to go to bed...and long story short, I went to bed and totally forgot my purse was still in the car. Clay forgot to lock the car. So it was essentially a thief's dream. Lucky freakin' son-of-a-snake.  They also took my GPS, my most favorite jacket in the world, and saddest of all, my video camera that I stashed in the glove compartment to have on hand to film Levi, which also happened to have footage of him as a teeny tiny newborn baby. I am SOOOO mad. I'm just kicking myself! GRRRRR! Ok, I will calm down. After disputing fraudulent credit card charges and trying (in vain) to find the same jacket and purse to repurchase, I told Levi that I was sorry I had to bring him into such a sad, messed-up world. Really, the same day that thousands of people in Japan were left homeless, lost loved ones, and were left to face truly scary situations, all this asswipe (excuse my French) in California could think of doing was robbing some innocent stranger with a BABY of their valuables while they slept? Disgusting.


Sorry for the tangent! Hope you enjoyed the video at least! I ought to just be thankful for everything I do have. And I am. Very, very thankful. ♥

Q: What time is it? A: Tooth-Hurty

Yes, that's right. Teething is in fuuuullllll swing.  Levi has an actual TOOTH pushing through the gums! I can see it!  I can feel it! I have named it "The Tooth". I am really praying that he quickly grows out of his "it's fun to bite mom's boobs" stage, or else breastfeeding might have to come to an unfortunate, premature end.  It hurts enough with just gums!

So far we've tried homeopathic teething drops and Hyland's teething tablets, along with cold water teethers and frozen washcloths, but I'll try anything and everything to ease his pain. I think I'm going to try mesh teething bags where you put frozen food or ice cubes in a little mesh bag so they can chew on it, but I'm afraid a huge mess will accompany that.  I'll give it a go! Oh, and amber teething necklaces are supposed to be another natural remedy, but I wonder of they reaaalllly work. Supposedly something in the amber soothes their discomfort, but I'm not about to drop 25 bucks on one if it's a shot in the dark whether or not they work.


Any tips or suggestions from my fellow teething warriors?

the flash majorly washed out the picture so you can't see it, but it IS there!!
also, note the mass amount of drool on his shirt...geeze!

When Irish Eyes are Smiling...

Happy St. Patty's Day!

The Early Bird

Even since day one, Levi has been an early bird. As soon as he sees a crack of sunlight through the blinds it's allll over....hes cooing and screeching and raring to go. This usually occurs between 6- 6:30 a.m., but on a rare good day he'll make it to 7 a.m.

Even though I'm not the kind of person who sleeps til noon (I don't even like sleeping in too long), I think I'm wired to be a night owl. No matter how early I try to go to bed to reset my internal clock I just cannot fall asleep before 10 p.m.  I would love to be one of those early-to-rise morning people because I truly love morning time, but it's just too hard to be all energetic and playful with Levi at the crack of dawn, especially when I've woken up at least twice during the night to feed him. If I could just sleep in until 8 I would be thrilled. 9 would be ideal, but not any later than that.

Anyway, here is a sample of Levi's early morning energy rush. Of course he is most active and happy and adorable when I am most sleepy and grumpy.  But he's just too cute and smiley to be mad at.  (Warning: he is in his bouncy chair, so dizziness may ensue. And ignore my baby talk.)

K(eep)I(t)S(hort),S(illy)!

After a short and pathetic rainy spell this past weekend, the mercury has risen for the last two days and it's got my mind a-wanderin' to daydreams of lazy summer afternoons. I love love LOVE summer, it's my favorite season in each and every way. I love the achingly long, sundrenched days, the feeling of hot sand between my toes at the beach, not worrying about having to blowdry my salty ocean-tousled hair, and the lingering smell of hot asphalt and warm grass on a starry, balmy summer night when you can walk around barefoot and without a jacket and just get the slightest chill.  I love getting up in the morning, throwing open the windows, and planning (or NOT planning) my sunny, limitless day.


Anyyyyway, this diversion brings me to the topic of shorts and my love for them. Next to dresses and shoes, shorts are one of my favorite articles of clothing. The tricky part about them is the right fit. Too tight or short and you veer into a stuffed sausage street walker look, too loose or long and you risk looking like a soccer mom. But! Once you find the perfect pair, they make your legs and your booty look snazzy, and you know you've got it right. Here are my top pics for shorts this spring/summer! Since I won't be buying any for awhile, I'll have to start adding shorts to my summer daydream repertoire ;) :

A simple, super soft pale pink t-shirt would be perfect with these bloomers.
(via Modcloth)

(via Modcloth)

Not sure I could pull these off, but they are caaaaa-yute!
(via Modcloth)

Oh how I love tap shorts! They are so comfy, and easily dressed up or down.
(via Modcloth)

Love the color and the 70s feel!
 I could see myself pairing these with a black American Apparel 3/4 sleeve bodysuit
(via Topshop)



Kinda on the wild side, that's what I like about these babies!
I'd wear them with an off-white crochet-y top and some brown leather ankle boots
(via Topshop)



I am obsessed with these, and of course they are SOLD OUT. Wahhh! :(
The hunt for knockoffs begins...
(via Topshop)



So flowy and breezy!
(via Topshop - yes, again)







Show your legs some love - wear your shorts with pride!



Hiiiiii!

You might be wondering why I haven't followed up on my resolution to not purchase any item of clothing for the month of March, and also to participate in a style challenge of rotating a select 30 items of clothing for 30 days.

You may be happy to know that even though we're only a week into March, I still haven't bought any new clothes (but, I did kind of cheat by buying Levi a pair of little Levi jeans that were on sale...does that count since it wasn't for me?! Not that he needs any new clothes either...), but the whole "30 for 30" idea didn't really pan out like I intended. First of all, like I mentioned, my stupid ol' computer is not functioning at the moment and is going to be shipped off to the computer hospital tomorrow. Second of all, and this is nobody's fault but my own, I fell really behind on laundry last week.  Therefore, I was unable to conduct a proper inventory of my wardrobe and pick out my 30 items. I know,  I'm so lame! I have no real excuses.

However, there will be redemption! I got to thinking, and I've come up with an even better style challenge for myself that will be much easier to stick to, and it involves the help of one of my dear and stylish friends.  I'm pretty excited about it, but I won't reveal it just yet, lest you cast it off as another pie-in-the-sky, flash-in-the-pan idea of mine, for which I am unfortunately known for. 

In other news, Levi has been trying realllly really hard to talk lately, and we swear we can hear him say "Hi" and "Dada" sometimes. Seriously! Don't you scoff at me! Ok, so it might be more like "Heyyyiiiiiiiiiii" and "Da.Da. Dada. Dadadadadada", but he's on the right track, yeah? I'll have to do the whole hidden camera secret mission move again so I have some sort of proof. 

Until then, Levi thinks you should vote for us, 'cause I just realized we're the Featured Blog of the Day! (I think it's randomized, but whatevs,  you should vote anyway!)

And if you have voted for us before, Levi sends you a big slobbery THANK YOU! Our goal is to make it on the top 25 :)

Rice cereal face!

Friday Faves!

Pardon my recent absence, dear readers. My luck with electronics continues to astound me...my computer that I've had for only 6 months has decided to not power on anymore. So yeah, customer service will be getting a friendly little call from me come Monday morning.

Annnyyyway, I'm borrowing a computer for a few minutes to just tell you why I've not been posting the last few days and to present to you my Friday F-F-Faaaaves: The Televison Edition!




My new favorite sitcom, Raising Hope.  A show about Jimmy, a single dad navigating the craziness of raising baby Hope by himself...with the help of his offbeat, politically incorrect family. Hil.ar.ious.  Bonus: Jimmy's mom is played by the blonde girl (forget her name) from The Goonies and Jimmy's kooky great-grandma is the lady who played Phyllis in the Mary Tyler Moore Show (another fave of mine). Watch it.

Also, an old standby, Modern Family. Sooo good, in so many ways.

And now for a more dramatic pick, the fabulous Mad Men. Such good style, such complex plots. For an hour, I can escape to my favorite era, which is realistically captured to a T. (Not that I know from personal experience, obviously, but I'm a bit of a history buff). Makes me want to pour myself a stiff one and puff nonchalantly on a cig.

So please don't give up on me, folks, I'll be back in blogging action soon!

Oh, and in the meantime, could you vote for us please?! Thanks!