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Finally my head feels kinda normal again!  For the first time in three days I don’t have a long, screaming metal/80’s hair band guitar solo playing between my ears.  What a joy it is to feel nothing between your ears!  That is different, of course than having nothing between your ears.

So far so good with the no sugar, caffeine and alcohol.  I haven’t cheated once!  Although I have been eating waaaaay too many cashews for some reason.  I miss ice cream the most.  Of course, if you’ve read a few of my blog entries, that comes as no surprise.  Mmmmm…ice cream.

Sorry, I went to my happy place there for a minute.  I was just imagining the taste of a bite of Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby or Oatmeal Cookie….mmmmm.  Oh, who am I kidding?  Any ice cream will do!  I am definitely NOT an ice cream snob.  Anywhooo. Enough about that.  No sense obsessing on ice cream when your fat pants are getting tight and you feel like crap every day.  It’s time to take action!  Mommies Against Muu-Muus!  Hey, wait.  That would solve the problem with the fat pants, wouldn’t it?

This sucks.  It’s no fun at all.  None. Zip.  Zilch.  I have a headache and I’m tired.  Blech.  No coffee to wake me up, sugar as a pick me up in the afternoon, glass of wine to relax after The Tot goes to bed, or ice cream to wallow in when I’m so tired I can’t see straight. 

I know that I’ll feel better in a few days because I’ve done this before but GAK!  Those few days are no fun!

I hope that all of you out there are having a better start to the year than I am!

Happy New Year!  I have a headache.  No, it’s not from over-imbibing or late-night reveling.  It’s from my new New Year’s resolution: no caffeine, sugar, refined carbs…you know, the good stuff!  For years I was caffeine, sugar, and refined-carb free but when I got pregnant that ALL changed!  Ice cream was a daily ”treat” and, while I still ate pretty well, I allowed myself treats that I hadn’t even seen in years.

When The Princess was born, it got worse.  Now it has hit critical mass (and so have I!)  So, here we go!  Weeeeeeeee!  Hang on, it could be a bumpy ride!

So I’m getting ready to put the Puffs on Tater Tot’s tray as a distraction for her while I get her meal ready and, God help me, I did not get them on the tray fast enough.  Good Lord!  I didn’t know my little angel could yell that loud!  When the first Puff hit the tray her hand shot out like it came out of a cannon and snatched up the Puff so fast I’m not sure it actually did hit the tray!  It was so funny to see her chubby little hands work so fast to get that Puff from the tray to her mouth.  Her little fingers snatched the Puff up into her hand which mashed the thing half in and half out of her mouth.  She managed to get it maneuvered into her mouth eventually but it took a while.  Subsequent attempts were much more successful.  Just don’t get between Tater and the Puff…it’s dangerous!

The Mommy’s Random, Occasional Surf Report for 12/29/06

The Tater Tot, The Daddy and I went down to the beach this afternoon and it was fun-looking but a bit messy.  On-shore wind…kind of afternoon slop-ish.  But this Mommy would’ve taken it if it weren’t for the bum shoulder.  Yes, I’m still working that one out…

Tater has picked up a sign that I did not teach her.  I have been using the American Sign Language sign for “more” which is to tap the fingers of both hands together.  She has begun using The Daddy Sign Language sign for more which is to slap her open hand on the table.  Yes, The Daddy thought he was being funny by teaching Tater to bang on her tray when it was meal time.  She has taken it to the next level by leaning over her tray to the dining table and slapping it when she runs out of Puffs.  I have a hard time not laughing when I hear the slapping on the table with a throat-clearing sound that can only mean “Uh, Mommy.  I need a little service here!”

The Slime Face is the face that the Tater Tot made this morning when we started eating mashed bananas instead of pureed bananas.  Eyes crinkled with a look of concern and lips puckered as if to say “Scuse me, Mommy, but did you know that there is something lumpy in here?”  She kind of moved it around with her mouth open and tongue out.  “What do I do with this exactly?” I can only conclude that the slippery, slimy texture of the mashed bananas grossed her out.  And can you really blame her?  All of the sudden her smooth, blended world comes to a screeching halt with this slimy, lumpy excuse for breakfast.  We shall see if this new texture eventually becomes acceptable or if it continues to activate the gag reflex….

Well, we have officially stopped nursing.  We’re done.  Finished.  It’s a wrap.  When the Tater Tot started to get teeth she decided that it was fun to clamp down HARD while nursing.  OUCH! We were only nursing twice a day at that point anyway and it was time.

We had a long struggle to keep nursing and I’m really glad that I was able to nurse her even a little bit for as long as I did.  We weren’t able to nurse exclusively after 4 months because she was having trouble gaining weight and we needed to see if it was a Tater problem or a Mommy problem.  It was a Mommy problem.  And I’m glad.  If it was a Tater problem, the possibilities were MUCH scarier!  It turns out Mommy’s Milk Machine just doesn’t work right.  I tried herbal supplements which did work, just not enough to exclusively nurse.  I pumped after each feeding, ate almonds and stuff with oats in it.  I destressed as much as I could and nursed her almost constantly for a while.  Didn’t work.  So we started supplementing with formula and, voila!  The Tater Tot started to gain weight.  And The Mommy relaxed.  That’s what allowed us to continue to nurse until 8 1/2 months.  Mommy relaxed, Tater relaxed and we nursed 3 times a day for a long time until the milk started to decrease.

There are pros and cons to weaning her at this point.  It’s kind of nice to feel like my body is my own again.  But I do miss the rest and comfort that we both got from nursing even just a couple of times a day.  It was always an option to just have a seat and get a little snack while Mommy rested, too.  But I feel good about the amount of time that I WAS able to nurse her and confident that she (and The Mommy) will be just fine.

Yes, there is a history of ice cream.  Whole books are devoted to the subject.  Imagine that.  I just wanted to know how they came up with my favorite emotional crutch, I mean dessert, and found out that there are even myths and folklore surrounding it’s invention.  Who knew?

Orange is my new favorite color.  It goes with sweet potatoes, winter squash and carrots.  Bananas and pears blend in okay with it, too!  Pink is great and I usually dress the Tot in it but, at this point in her life (and mine!), orange is the way to go!  Until we start eating more green foods…

The Mommy’s “What I Missed” Surf Report for 10/28/06: small, 1-2 foot clean waves, warm water and a small crowd especially for a Saturday.  I can’t wait until I stop nursing so I can do dawn patrol again!  The Daddy can wait…he likes dawn patrol too.