The Food Repurposing

My husband and I got into a plastic food fight the other night.

Yeah, we're THOSE people.

The Milk Analysis

I've been pumping breast milk for ten months now.

The end is in sight. The finish line is SO CLOSE. At least once a day (ok, every time I pump) I consider quitting right then and there.

But I don't. It's only another month and a half. 

Do I feel an obligation to keep going? 

Yes.

But it is my decision to feel this way. My decision to save money on formula and give our daughter all the best things breast milk can do for her. My decision to lose weight(what a happy side effect)! My decision to keep going for all the mommies I know that couldn't do it. Because if they could have done what I have done, they would have. Because they respect the mommies that can do it, and still choose to stop. 

THOSE are the mommies I keep going for.

But I am so very tired. I want to sleep through through the night without waking up to pump. I want to stop awkwardly borrowing offices at work and carrying that backpack back and forth. I want to stop planning trips and schedules around pumping. 

And someday, I'm sure I would love to SLEEP BRALESS. 

SO CLOSE! I CAN TASTE THE MARGARITAS NOW!

The Eavesdropping Juxtaposition

We take turns getting Anna up from her naps. Occasionally I like to eavesdrop on my husband over the baby monitor...and have not been disappointed by the cuteness factor. (Which is already very high anyways. My husband is FRELLING adorable in all manner of speaking. Anna is too.) 

Today he went up to get her while I was cooking dinner. This is what I heard:

H: "Does Mommy have stinky feet? Does Mommy have stinky feet?"

A:"Yah!"

Let the mutiny begin.

The Parent Distraction

I've been crying a lot lately. 

Not because things are going awful. Things are great, thanks for asking,

Probably because it's Anna's first Christmas, and all the sappy movies are on and Christmas music is playing EVERYWHERE. And you get grateful for all you have. 

But that doesn't mean awful things don't happen. Children go missing, parents pass away, grandparents get sick, or any combination of those. Or you read scary books about zombie apocalypses where people give up their children to strangers in order to save them. 

All in all, once you've become a parent, you see the world VERY differently. Things are a lot scarier. Potential disasters are more often than not brought to the forefront of your mind, regardless of how impossible they might seem (you know, like zombie apocalypses. C'mon, you've all considered what you would do in the event of a zombie apocalypse. For the record, head for a prison. Apparently it is your best bet.)

All those stories about parents losing their children really seem to hit home, especially around the holidays. And you wonder, but don't wonder, what it would be like to lose a child. Who would you be? Are you still a parent if you lose a child? How would you react? What sort of person would you become?

I hate to think it, but I would probably become a sadistic version of the Hulk. 

Seriously. 

So I'm going to hug my little one a little closer tonight and thank heavens I have her!

The Princess Potential

We've had so many little boys visiting lately and playing with Anna's toys. 

But the favorite has to be the princess castle. 

Among the notable princess interactions:

The Princess Party:

Apparently just Aladdin and all the ladies.

Dinner at the Wagon:

Batman and Superman dine with the twin Cinderellas and Jasmine. 

The Police Lineup:

Please have your IDs ready.

And my favorite:

The Princesses and the Justice League meeting. Villains welcome.

The Diet Supplementation

I think I'm getting more carbs than usual.

Anna's recently started eating those dissolvable puffs that come in a gazillion unnecessary flavors (peach? Really?). When I take her out of her high chair, there's usually a few that she dropped or missed. So what do I do?

What any parent does. 

Eat em!

I'm not about to walk them back to their container across the room. No way. Even those peach puffs. Yum (mostly). 

Time to hit the gym to burn those extra six calories.

The Working Complexity

Pumping.

One of the most awkward things ever, both to do and in conversation. One of the worst parts is finding a place to pump. Especially at work. Where you don't have an office. And have to publicly ask others (granted, offices of other moms that have done what you are doing) to use their office and could they please take a coffee break you'll even pay for it just lock the door on your way out K thanks.

Most awkward place? Bosses office. Weirdest? Waste management plant. Not the grossest, though. I found out my sister in law pumped in a bar room bathroom once during my bachelorette party.

She must REALLY like me.

And I just had to chat with a coworker and friend about it. One of the moms in her preschool class really wants to meet me (I did her a teeny favor once). Like really wants to meet me. And asks each class to meet me. The coworker has politely declined, bunlet it slip once that I can't meet during that time because I'm pumping. How do I know? Said mom called me to register her son and again expressed the desire to meet me...but mentioned she knew I was pumping during the class and thus unavailable.

Talk about freaking awkward.

Ugh. Now when I do meet her she'll just be looking at my boobs. Great.

I suppose it could have been worse. Could've been a dad. Yikes.